mutation

/mjuˈteɪʃən/

//mjuˈteɪʃən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“mutation” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,281. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,281
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any alteration or change.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mutation · mutation · English

mutation · rank #12,281 · 12 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,281
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mutant

Nearest frequency peer: mutant (-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 “mutation”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mutation” 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).

mutation vs mutton
75% similar
mutation vs mutilation
80% similar

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

Key facts for mutation
PropertyValue
Headwordmutation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mjuˈteɪʃən/
Letters8
Frequency rank#12,281
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mutation”

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).mutationlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “mutant” (#12,280), “mythology” (#12,282), “Neal” (#12,283). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mutation” is #12,281. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around mutation (IPA /mjuˈteɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,281 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for mutation, with forms such as "mmutation", "mtuation", and "muattion". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "mutton", "mutilation", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late 14th century as Middle English mutacioun, from Latin mūtātiō, both directly and via Old French mutacion. The correct English form is mutation, spelled M-U-T-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any alteration or change.
  2. 2
    Any heritable change of the base-pair sequence of genetic material.
  3. 3
    A mutant.
  4. 4
    An alteration in a particular sound of a word, especially the initial consonant, which is triggered by the word's morphological or syntactic context and not by its phonological context.
  5. 5
    The transfer of title of an asset in a register.
  6. 6
    A group of thrushes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, […]. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected against—in a wild population. A good example is mutations that di…
  2. Birdwatchers would enjoy a host of sparrows, a herd of swans, a descent of woodpeckers, a herd of wrens, and mutation of thrushes.

Etymology

Late 14th century as Middle English mutacioun, from Latin mūtātiō, both directly and via Old French mutacion.

This word in other languages

mutación(Español)mutation(Français)Mutation(Deutsch)mutação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmutation
  • mtuation
  • muattion
  • mutaiton
  • mutasion
  • mutatino
  • mutationn
  • mutatoin
  • mutattion
  • muttaion
  • muttation
  • umtation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

mmutation1mtuation2muattion2mutaiton2mutasion1mutatino2mutationn1mutatoin2
Edit distance from "mutation"

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 "mutation"?
"mutation" is spelled M-U-T-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /mjuˈteɪʃən/.
What does "mutation" mean?
As a noun, "mutation" means: Any alteration or change.
What words are commonly confused with "mutation"?
"mutation" is commonly confused with "mutton", "mutilation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mutation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mutation" is /mjuˈteɪʃən/. 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 "mutation"?
Late 14th century as Middle English mutacioun, from Latin mūtātiō, both directly and via Old French mutacion. 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 "mutation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

noticing#12,288intimacy#12,259Hartford#12,253handmade#12,252

Similar misspelling depth

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

salesman12 variantsEdmonton12 variantsdeserted12 variantsswallowed12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list