inheritance

/ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/

//ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns// noun

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

"inheritance" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“inheritance” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,619. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,619
frequency rank, English
17,902
“I” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The passing of title to an estate upon death.

Corpus desk

Index EN-inheritance · inheritance · English

inheritance · rank #9,619 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,619
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 17,902
  • PHOTO-FINISH horns

Nearest frequency peer: horns (-2 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “inheritance”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “inheritance” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for inheritance
PropertyValue
Headwordinheritance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/
Letters11
Frequency rank#9,619
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “inheritance” 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). inheritance lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around inheritance (IPA /ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,619 among 17,902 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for inheritance, with forms such as "ihneritance", "inehritance", and "inheirtance". 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. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English enheritaunce, inheritaunce, borrowed from Anglo-Norman, Old French enheritaunce, from enheriter. By surface analysis, inherit + -ance. The correct English form is inheritance, spelled I-N-H-E-R-I-T-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The passing of title to an estate upon death.
  2. 2
    That which a person is entitled to inherit, by law or testament, such as the part of an estate (i.e., a portion).
  3. 3
    The act or mechanism of inheriting; the state of having inherited.
  4. 4
    The biological attributes passed hereditarily from ancestors to their offspring.
  5. 5
    The mechanism whereby parts of a superclass are available to instances of its subclass.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English enheritaunce, inheritaunce, borrowed from Anglo-Norman, Old French enheritaunce, from enheriter. By surface analysis, inherit + -ance.

This word in other languages

herencia(Español)héritage(Français)Erbschaft(Deutsch)herança(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ihneritance
  • inehritance
  • inheirtance
  • inheriatnce
  • inheritacne
  • inheritancce
  • inheritanec
  • inheritannce
  • inheritence
  • inheritnace
  • inherittance
  • inherritance
  • inhertiance
  • inhheritance
  • inhreitance
  • innheritance
  • niheritance

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ihneritance2inehritance2inheirtance2inheriatnce2inheritacne2inheritancce1inheritanec2inheritannce1
Edit distance from "inheritance"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "inheritance"?
"inheritance" is spelled I-N-H-E-R-I-T-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/.
What does "inheritance" mean?
As a noun, "inheritance" means: The passing of title to an estate upon death.
What are common misspellings of "inheritance"?
Common misspellings include "ihneritance", "inehritance", "inheirtance", "inheriatnce", "inheritacne". The correct spelling is "inheritance".
How do you pronounce "inheritance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "inheritance" is /ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/. 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 "inheritance"?
Inherited from Middle English enheritaunce, inheritaunce, borrowed from Anglo-Norman, Old French enheritaunce, from enheriter. By surface analysis, inherit + -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 "inheritance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

constraints#9,589sympathetic#9,549Southampton#9,542respiratory#9,524

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

sufficiently17 variantsfundraising17 variantsadvancement17 variantssurroundings17 variants
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