momentous

/məʊˈmɛn.təs/

//məʊˈmɛn.təs// adj

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

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

The verdict

“momentous” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,143. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,143
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Outstanding in importance, of great consequence.

Corpus desk

Index EN-momentous · momentous · English

momentous · rank #25,143 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,143
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mora

Nearest frequency peer: mora (+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 “momentous”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “momentous” 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).

momentous vs moments
78% similar
momentous vs momentum
78% similar

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

Key facts for momentous
PropertyValue
Headwordmomentous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/məʊˈmɛn.təs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#25,143
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “momentous”

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).momentouslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “mora” (#25,144), “Minsk” (#25,141), “mou” (#25,145). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “momentous” is #25,143. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around momentous (IPA /məʊˈmɛn.təs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #25,143 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Outstanding in importance, of great consequence.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for momentous, with forms such as "mmoentous", "mmomentous", and "moemntous". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "moments", "momentum", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From moment (“weight, importance”) + -ous. The correct English form is momentous, spelled M-O-M-E-N-T-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Outstanding in importance, of great consequence.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The reason why I did not publish this book till the end of the last sessions of parliament was, because I did not care to interfere with more momentous affairs.
  2. "It has been a momentous month, and I hope we shall all retain healthful recollections of it as long as we live."

Etymology

From moment (“weight, importance”) + -ous.

This word in other languages

importante(Español)capital(Français)wichtig(Deutsch)capital(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmoentous
  • mmomentous
  • moemntous
  • momenntous
  • momenotus
  • momentosu
  • momentouss
  • momenttous
  • momentuos
  • mometnous
  • mommentous
  • momnetous
  • ommentous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

mmoentous2mmomentous1moemntous2momenntous1momenotus2momentosu2momentouss1momenttous1
Edit distance from "momentous"

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 "momentous"?
"momentous" is spelled M-O-M-E-N-T-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /məʊˈmɛn.təs/.
What does "momentous" mean?
As an adjective, "momentous" means: Outstanding in importance, of great consequence.
What words are commonly confused with "momentous"?
"momentous" is commonly confused with "moments", "momentum". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "momentous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "momentous" is /məʊˈmɛn.təs/. 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 "momentous"?
From moment (“weight, importance”) + -ous. 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 "momentous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

midsummer#25,136nightfall#25,150manganese#25,130organiser#25,156

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

leveraged13 variantspneumatic13 variantsimmunology13 variantsscapegoat13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list