modernise
/ˈmɒdənaɪz/
"modernise" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“modernise” is uncommon English (frequency #51,853 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #51,853
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of modernize.
Corpus desk
Index EN-modernise · modernise · English
modernise · rank #51,853 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #51,853
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH montes
Nearest frequency peer: montes (+3 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.
Long-tail ranks near “modernise”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- midsection
midsection
48,153 corpus weight
- mightier
mightier
48,152 corpus weight
- modernise
modernise
48,148 corpus weight
- montes
montes
48,145 corpus weight
- Mountbatten
Mountbatten
48,144 corpus weight
- mucosal
mucosal
48,143 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “modernise” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | modernise |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈmɒdənaɪz/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #51,853 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “modernise” in English
Rare enough to double-check
modernise is uncommon English at frequency #51,853 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈmɒdənaɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of modernize.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for modernise, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is modernise, spelled M-O-D-E-R-N-I-S-E.
Definition
- 1Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of modernize.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how modernise appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The principal locomotive workshops now in use are those of the former Rhymney Railway at Caerphilly, modernised and re-equipped to meet the requirements of the new regime.
The same applies to the toilets. Simply the ability to remove those labels that read "do not flush while the train is at a station" (a sticker that dates a train as 'old') modernises them no end.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "modernise", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).