novation

/noʊˈveɪʃən/

//noʊˈveɪʃən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“novation” is uncommon English (frequency #95,197 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#95,197
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Replacement of a contract with one or more new contracts, in particular in financial markets the replacement of a contract between a particular buyer and seller with contracts between the clearing ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-novation · novation · English

novation · rank #95,197 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #95,197
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nuclease

Nearest frequency peer: nuclease (+2 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 “novation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “novation” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for novation
PropertyValue
Headwordnovation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/noʊˈveɪʃən/
Letters8
Frequency rank#95,197
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “novation” in English

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “nuclease” (#95,199), “nole” (#95,194), “numinous” (#95,200). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “novation” is #95,197. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

novation is uncommon English at frequency #95,197 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /noʊˈveɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for novation, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin novātiō (“a renewing, rennovation”), from novō, from novus (“new”). Compare novel, novelty. The correct English form is novation, spelled N-O-V-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Replacement of a contract with one or more new contracts, in particular in financial markets the replacement of a contract between a particular buyer and seller with contracts between the clearing house and each party.
  2. 2
    A new contract between the original contracting parties whereby the first obligation is extinguished and a new obligation is substituted.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 1998, London Clearing House, submission to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission http://www.cftc.gov/opa/press98/opa4163-98-att.htm Netting by novation will occur immediately upon registration of the transaction in the SCM's name.
  2. A similar novation of infrastructure ownership was seen as a logical development for the operation of Merseyrail services. But this has remained with Network Rail, […].

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin novātiō (“a renewing, rennovation”), from novō, from novus (“new”). Compare novel, novelty.

This word in other languages

novación(Español)novation(Français)

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 "novation"?
"novation" is spelled N-O-V-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /noʊˈveɪʃən/.
What does "novation" mean?
As a noun, "novation" means: Replacement of a contract with one or more new contracts, in particular in financial markets the replacement of a contract between a particular buyer and seller with contracts between the clearing ...
How do you pronounce "novation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "novation" is /noʊˈveɪʃən/. 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 "novation"?
Borrowed from Latin novātiō (“a renewing, rennovation”), from novō, from novus (“new”). Compare novel, novelty. 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 "novation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

nuclease#95,199numinous#95,200nuthatch#95,202monetise#95,152

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list