ignorance

/ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹəns/

//ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹəns// noun

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

"ignorance" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ignorance” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,693. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,693
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The condition of being uninformed or uneducated; lack of knowledge or information.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ignorance · ignorance · English

ignorance · rank #6,693 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,693
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH hart

Nearest frequency peer: hart (-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 “ignorance”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ignorance” 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).

ignorance vs ignorant
78% similar

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

Key facts for ignorance
PropertyValue
Headwordignorance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹəns/
Letters9
Frequency rank#6,693
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ignorance”

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).ignorancelands 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 “hart” (#6,692), “ignoring” (#6,694), “harper” (#6,691). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “ignorance” is #6,693. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around ignorance (IPA /ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹəns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,693 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for ignorance, with forms such as "ginorance", "iggnorance", and "ignnorance". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "ignorant", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ignoraunce, ignorance, from From Old French ignorance, from Latin ignōrantia. By surface analysis, ignor(e) + -ance. The correct English form is ignorance, spelled I-G-N-O-R-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The condition of being uninformed or uneducated; lack of knowledge or information.
  2. 2
    Sins committed through ignorance.
  3. 3
    Existential blindness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She shows total ignorance about the topic at hand.
  2. The guard was paying no attention whatever to the running of his train, in total disregard of rules, and, as the recently-published report of a Ministry of Transport Inspecting Officer of Railways shows, there were other disquieting features in the case, such as ignorance on the part of responsible men of rules and appendix instructions and a lax attitude…

Etymology

From Middle English ignoraunce, ignorance, from From Old French ignorance, from Latin ignōrantia. By surface analysis, ignor(e) + -ance.

This word in other languages

ignorancia(Español)ignorance(Français)Unwissenheit(Deutsch)ignorância(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ginorance
  • iggnorance
  • ignnorance
  • ignoarnce
  • ignoracne
  • ignorancce
  • ignoranec
  • ignorannce
  • ignorence
  • ignornace
  • ignorrance
  • ignroance
  • igonrance
  • ingorance

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ginorance2iggnorance1ignnorance1ignoarnce2ignoracne2ignorancce1ignoranec2ignorannce1
Edit distance from "ignorance"

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 "ignorance"?
"ignorance" is spelled I-G-N-O-R-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹəns/.
What does "ignorance" mean?
As a noun, "ignorance" means: The condition of being uninformed or uneducated; lack of knowledge or information.
What words are commonly confused with "ignorance"?
"ignorance" is commonly confused with "ignorant". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ignorance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ignorance" is /ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹəns/. 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 "ignorance"?
From Middle English ignoraunce, ignorance, from From Old French ignorance, from Latin ignōrantia. By surface analysis, ignor(e) + -ance. 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 "ignorance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

immigrant#6,695inspiring#6,697invention#6,699extending#6,685

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

emotionally14 variantsplacement14 variantsworkplace14 variantsYorkshire14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list