heterogeneous
/ˌhɛt.(ə.)ɹəˈd͡ʒiː.nɪəs/
"heterogeneous" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“heterogeneous” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,111 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #26,111
- frequency rank, English
- 13
- letters
- 18
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Diverse in kind or nature; composed of diverse parts.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | heterogeneous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌhɛt.(ə.)ɹəˈd͡ʒiː.nɪəs/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #26,111 |
| Misspellings tracked | 18 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “heterogeneous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for heterogeneous is 13 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌhɛt.(ə.)ɹəˈd͡ʒiː.nɪəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,111 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for heterogeneous, with forms such as "ehterogeneous", "heetrogeneous", and "heteorgeneous". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Medieval Latin heterogeneus, from Ancient Greek ἑτερογενής (heterogenḗs, “of different kinds”), from ἕτερος (héteros, “other, another, different”) + γένος (génos, “kind”). Compare hetero- and -ous. The correct English form is heterogeneous, spelled H-E-T-E-R-O-G-E-N-E-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Diverse in kind or nature; composed of diverse parts.
- 2Incommensurable because of different kinds.
- 3Having more than one phase (solid, liquid, gas) present in a system or process.
- 4Visibly consisting of different components.
- 5Of a network comprising different types of computers, potentially with vastly differing memory sizes, processing power and even basic underlying architecture; alternatively, of a data resource with multiple types of formats.
Etymology
From Medieval Latin heterogeneus, from Ancient Greek ἑτερογενής (heterogenḗs, “of different kinds”), from ἕτερος (héteros, “other, another, different”) + γένος (génos, “kind”). Compare hetero- and -ous.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ehterogeneous,heetrogeneous,heteorgeneous,hetergoeneous,heteroegneous,heterogeenous,heterogeneosu,heterogeneouss,heterogeneuos,heterogenneous,heterogenoeus,heteroggeneous,heterogneeous,heterrogeneous,hetreogeneous,hetterogeneous,hheterogeneous,hteerogeneous
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of heterogeneous - 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.
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 "heterogeneous"?
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Using “heterogeneous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-E-T-E-R-O-G-E-N-E-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌhɛt.(ə.)ɹəˈd͡ʒiː.nɪəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.