obviousness

/ˈɒ(b)viəsnɪs/

//ˈɒ(b)viəsnɪs// noun

"obviousness" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“obviousness” is uncommon English (frequency #86,583 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,583
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The characteristic of being obvious.

Corpus desk

Index EN-obviousness · obviousness · English

obviousness · rank #86,583 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,583
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH O'Flynn

Nearest frequency peer: O'Flynn (-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 “obviousness”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for obviousness
PropertyValue
Headwordobviousness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɒ(b)viəsnɪs/
Letters11
Frequency rank#86,583
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “obviousness” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).obviousnessfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “O'Flynn” (#86,581), “ODP” (#86,586), “officious” (#86,589). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “obviousness” is #86,583. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

obviousness is uncommon English at frequency #86,583 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɒ(b)viəsnɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The characteristic of being obvious.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for obviousness, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From obvious + -ness. The correct English form is obviousness, spelled O-B-V-I-O-U-S-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The characteristic of being obvious.

Etymology

From obvious + -ness.

This word in other languages

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 "obviousness"?
"obviousness" is spelled O-B-V-I-O-U-S-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒ(b)viəsnɪs/.
What does "obviousness" mean?
As a noun, "obviousness" means: The characteristic of being obvious.
How do you pronounce "obviousness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obviousness" is /ˈɒ(b)viəsnɪs/. 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 "obviousness"?
From obvious + -ness. 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 "obviousness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list