haunting

verb

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

The verdict

“haunting” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,557 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#14,557
frequency rank, English
8
letters
12
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - present participle and gerund of haunt

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

haunting vs hunting
88% similar
haunting vs hurting
75% similar
haunting vs hinting
75% similar

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

Key facts for haunting
PropertyValue
Headwordhaunting
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Frequency rank#14,557
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “haunting” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for haunting is 8 letters long, classified as a verb. Corpus data places it at rank #14,557 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "present participle and gerund of haunt".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for haunting, with forms such as "ahunting", "hanuting", and "haunitng". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "hunting", "hurting", "hinting", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is haunting, spelled H-A-U-N-T-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of haunt

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ahunting,hanuting,haunitng,haunnting,hauntign,hauntingg,hauntinng,hauntnig,hauntting,hautning,hhaunting,huanting

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of haunting - 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.

ahunting2hanuting2haunitng2haunnting1hauntign2hauntingg1hauntinng1hauntnig2
Edit distance from "haunting"

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 "haunting"?
"haunting" is spelled H-A-U-N-T-I-N-G.
What does "haunting" mean?
As a verb, "haunting" means: present participle and gerund of haunt
What words are commonly confused with "haunting"?
"haunting" is commonly confused with "hunting", "hurting", "hinting". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "haunting" come from?
"haunting" 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.

Using “haunting”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-A-U-N-T-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “hunting” - see the side-by-side comparison. haunting vs hunting
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list