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narration

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

9 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "narration", 9-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "narration" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "narration" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

narration is aEnglishnoun. It means: The act of recounting or relating in order the particulars of some action, occurrence, or affair; a narrating. Pronounced /nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/. Often confused with narrator and narrative.

Key facts for narration
PropertyValue
Headwordnarration
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#19,145
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of narration in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for narration is 9 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,145 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 12 documented wrong-spelling variants for narration, with forms such as "anrration", "narartion", and "naration". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "narrator", "narrative", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French narration, from Old French narracion, from Latin narrātiō. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is narration, spelled N-A-R-R-A-T-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of recounting or relating in order the particulars of some action, occurrence, or affair; a narrating.
  2. 2
    That which is narrated or recounted; an orderly recital of the details and particulars of some transaction or event, or of a series of transactions or events; a story or narrative.
  3. 3
    That part of an oration in which the speaker makes his or her statement of facts.

Etymology

From Middle French narration, from Old French narracion, from Latin narrātiō.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: anrration,narartion,naration,narraiton,narrasion,narratino,narrationn,narratoin,narrattion,narrtaion,nnarration,nraration

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for narration

Misspelling Variants of "narration"

anrration9narartion9naration8narraiton9narrasion9narratino9narrationn10narratoin9
Misspelling Variants of "narration"

Frequency rank: #19,145 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "narration"?
"narration" is spelled N-A-R-R-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/.
What does "narration" mean?
As a noun, "narration" means: The act of recounting or relating in order the particulars of some action, occurrence, or affair; a narrating.
What words are commonly confused with "narration"?
"narration" is commonly confused with "narrator", "narrative". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "narration"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "narration" is /nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/. 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 "narration"?
From Middle French narration, from Old French narracion, from Latin narrātiō. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter N in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.