lingering
/ˈlɪŋɡəɹɪŋ/
"lingering" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lingering” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,515. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #16,515
- frequency rank, English
- 16,425
- “L” headwords
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - gerund of linger: an act of loitering or waiting.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lingering · lingering · English
lingering · rank #16,515 · 14 variants · 1 confusable
- FREQ-MID #16,515
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
- VAR-HIGH 14 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 16,425
- PHOTO-FINISH limp
Nearest frequency peer: limp (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “lingering”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- lagoon
lagoon
83,490 corpus weight
- Len
Len
83,489 corpus weight
- limp
limp
83,487 corpus weight
- lingering
lingering
83,486 corpus weight
- linguistics
linguistics
83,485 corpus weight
- logically
logically
83,483 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “lingering” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lingering |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈlɪŋɡəɹɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #16,515 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lingering” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 14 spelling variants around lingering (IPA /ˈlɪŋɡəɹɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,515 among 16,425 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for lingering, with forms such as "ilngering", "lignering", and "linegring". 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, "lingerie", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From linger + -ing. The correct English form is lingering, spelled L-I-N-G-E-R-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1gerund of linger: an act of loitering or waiting.
- 2That which lingers; a remnant.
Etymology
From linger + -ing.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ilngering
- lignering
- linegring
- lingeirng
- lingerign
- lingeringg
- lingerinng
- lingernig
- lingerring
- linggering
- lingreing
- linngering
- llingering
- lnigering
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lingering - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "lingering"?
What does "lingering" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "lingering"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lingering", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).
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.