governed

/ˈɡəvɚnd/

//ˈɡəvɚnd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"governed" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“governed” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,936. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,936
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of govern

Corpus desk

Index EN-governed · governed · English

governed · rank #8,936 · 12 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,936
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH geographical

Nearest frequency peer: geographical (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “governed”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “governed” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

governed vs governs
75% similar
governed vs governor
75% similar
governed vs governess
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for governed
PropertyValue
Headwordgoverned
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈɡəvɚnd/
Letters8
Frequency rank#8,936
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “governed”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).governedlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “geographical” (#8,935), “governmental” (#8,937), “genesis” (#8,934). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “governed” is #8,936. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around governed (IPA /ˈɡəvɚnd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #8,936 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of govern".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for governed, with forms such as "ggoverned", "goevrned", and "govenred". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "governs", "governor", "governess", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is governed, spelled G-O-V-E-R-N-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of govern

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggoverned
  • goevrned
  • govenred
  • goverend
  • governde
  • governedd
  • governned
  • goverrned
  • govrened
  • govverned
  • gvoerned
  • ogverned

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of governed - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ggoverned1goevrned2govenred2goverend2governde2governedd1governned1goverrned1
Edit distance from "governed"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "governed"?
"governed" is spelled G-O-V-E-R-N-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡəvɚnd/.
What does "governed" mean?
As a verb, "governed" means: simple past and past participle of govern
What words are commonly confused with "governed"?
"governed" is commonly confused with "governs", "governor", "governess". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "governed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "governed" is /ˈɡəvɚnd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "governed" come from?
"governed" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "governed", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

grandson#8,938gasoline#8,933feminism#8,928explorer#8,925

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

lengthy12 variantscomposer12 variantsnecklace12 variantsPeterson12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list