hereditary

/həˈɹɛdɪt(ə)ɹi/

//həˈɹɛdɪt(ə)ɹi// adj

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

"hereditary" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hereditary” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,185. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,185
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Passed on as an inheritance, by last will or intestate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hereditary · hereditary · English

hereditary · rank #15,185 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #15,185
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hailed

Nearest frequency peer: hailed (-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 “hereditary”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “hereditary” 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).

hereditary vs heredity
80% similar

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

Key facts for hereditary
PropertyValue
Headwordhereditary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/həˈɹɛdɪt(ə)ɹi/
Letters10
Frequency rank#15,185
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hereditary”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hereditarylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “hailed” (#15,184), “hiatus” (#15,186), “homestead” (#15,187). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hereditary” is #15,185. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around hereditary (IPA /həˈɹɛdɪt(ə)ɹi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #15,185 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for hereditary, with forms such as "ehreditary", "heerditary", and "herdeitary". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "heredity", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English hereditarie, from Latin hērēditārius, from hērēditās (“inheritance”), from hērēs (“heir”). The correct English form is hereditary, spelled H-E-R-E-D-I-T-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Passed on as an inheritance, by last will or intestate.
  2. 2
    Of a title, honor or right: legally granted to somebody's descendant after that person's death.
  3. 3
    Of a person: holding a legally hereditary title or rank.
  4. 4
    Of a disease or trait: passed from a parent to offspring in the genes.
  5. 5
    Of a ring: such that all submodules of projective modules over the ring are also projective.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hereditary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Duke is a hereditary title which was created in Norman times.
  2. hereditary rulers

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English hereditarie, from Latin hērēditārius, from hērēditās (“inheritance”), from hērēs (“heir”).

Synonyms

inhereditary

Antonyms

nonhereditary

This word in other languages

heredado(Español)héréditaire(Français)erblich(Deutsch)hereditário(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehreditary
  • heerditary
  • herdeitary
  • heredditary
  • herediatry
  • hereditarry
  • hereditaryy
  • hereditayr
  • hereditray
  • heredittary
  • heredtiary
  • hereidtary
  • herreditary
  • hhereditary
  • hreeditary

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hereditary - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ehreditary2heerditary2herdeitary2heredditary1herediatry2hereditarry1hereditaryy1hereditayr2
Edit distance from "hereditary"

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 "hereditary"?
"hereditary" is spelled H-E-R-E-D-I-T-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /həˈɹɛdɪt(ə)ɹi/.
What does "hereditary" mean?
As an adjective, "hereditary" means: Passed on as an inheritance, by last will or intestate.
What words are commonly confused with "hereditary"?
"hereditary" is commonly confused with "heredity". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hereditary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hereditary" is /həˈɹɛdɪt(ə)ɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hereditary"?
Inherited from Middle English hereditarie, from Latin hērēditārius, from hērēditās (“inheritance”), from hērēs (“heir”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 "hereditary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

horsepower#15,189grassroots#15,178expectancy#15,164exhaustion#15,163

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

negativity15 variantsscratched15 variantssuspicions15 variantsvolatility15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list