loathing

/ˈləʊðɪŋ/

//ˈləʊðɪŋ// noun

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

"loathing" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“loathing” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,589. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,589
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sense of revulsion, distaste, detestation, extreme hatred or dislike.

Corpus desk

Index EN-loathing · loathing · English

loathing · rank #23,589 · 12 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,589
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lighted

Nearest frequency peer: lighted (-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 “loathing”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “loathing” 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).

loathing vs looting
75% similar
loathing vs loading
75% similar
loathing vs lashing
75% similar

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

Key facts for loathing
PropertyValue
Headwordloathing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈləʊðɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#23,589
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “loathing”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).loathinglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “lighted” (#23,588), “letterman” (#23,587), “laird” (#23,586). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “loathing” is #23,589. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around loathing (IPA /ˈləʊðɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,589 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Sense of revulsion, distaste, detestation, extreme hatred or dislike.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for loathing, with forms such as "laothing", "lloathing", and "loahting". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "looting", "loading", "lashing", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is loathing, spelled L-O-A-T-H-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sense of revulsion, distaste, detestation, extreme hatred or dislike.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The man's loathing of his former friend was palpable; you could feel how much he now hated him.

This word in other languages

odio(Español)dégoût(Français)Hass(Deutsch)ódio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • laothing
  • lloathing
  • loahting
  • loathhing
  • loathign
  • loathingg
  • loathinng
  • loathnig
  • loatihng
  • loatthing
  • lotahing
  • olathing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

laothing2lloathing1loahting2loathhing1loathign2loathingg1loathinng1loathnig2
Edit distance from "loathing"

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 "loathing"?
"loathing" is spelled L-O-A-T-H-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈləʊðɪŋ/.
What does "loathing" mean?
As a noun, "loathing" means: Sense of revulsion, distaste, detestation, extreme hatred or dislike.
What words are commonly confused with "loathing"?
"loathing" is commonly confused with "looting", "loading", "lashing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "loathing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "loathing" is /ˈləʊðɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "loathing" come from?
"loathing" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "loathing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

McMillan#23,596incision#23,566painless#23,625forsaken#23,544

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

letterman12 variantsmenopause12 variantsprenatal12 variantsfoothills12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list