hesitating

/ˈhɛzɪteɪtɪŋ/

//ˈhɛzɪteɪtɪŋ// verb

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

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

The verdict

“hesitating” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,734. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,734
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of hesitate

Corpus desk

Index EN-hesitating · hesitating · English

hesitating · rank #40,734 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #40,734
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH Herrick

Nearest frequency peer: Herrick (-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 “hesitating”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “hesitating” 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).

hesitating vs hesitation
80% similar

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

Key facts for hesitating
PropertyValue
Headwordhesitating
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈhɛzɪteɪtɪŋ/
Letters10
Frequency rank#40,734
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hesitating”

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).hesitatinglands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Herrick” (#40,733), “heuristic” (#40,735), “hick” (#40,736). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hesitating” is #40,734. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around hesitating (IPA /ˈhɛzɪteɪtɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #40,734 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of hesitate".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for hesitating, with forms such as "ehsitating", "heistating", and "hesiatting". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "hesitation", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is hesitating, spelled H-E-S-I-T-A-T-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of hesitate

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehsitating
  • heistating
  • hesiatting
  • hesitaitng
  • hesitatign
  • hesitatingg
  • hesitatinng
  • hesitatnig
  • hesitatting
  • hesittaing
  • hesittating
  • hessitating
  • hestiating
  • hhesitating
  • hseitating

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hesitating - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ehsitating2heistating2hesiatting2hesitaitng2hesitatign2hesitatingg1hesitatinng1hesitatnig2
Edit distance from "hesitating"

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 "hesitating"?
"hesitating" is spelled H-E-S-I-T-A-T-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɛzɪteɪtɪŋ/.
What does "hesitating" mean?
As a verb, "hesitating" means: present participle and gerund of hesitate
What words are commonly confused with "hesitating"?
"hesitating" is commonly confused with "hesitation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hesitating"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hesitating" is /ˈhɛzɪteɪtɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hesitating" come from?
"hesitating" 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 "hesitating", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

incestuous#40,748geophysics#40,711expandable#40,689lumberjack#40,785

Similar misspelling depth

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

deleterious15 variantsCopernicus15 variantscoastguard15 variantscantilever15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list