oncology
/ɒŋˈkɒləd͡ʒi/
"oncology" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“oncology” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,146. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #18,146
- frequency rank, English
- 15,494
- “O” headwords
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The branch of medicine concerned with tumors, including study of their development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | oncology |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɒŋˈkɒləd͡ʒi/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #18,146 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “oncology” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 12 spelling variants around oncology (IPA /ɒŋˈkɒləd͡ʒi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,146 among 15,494 “O” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The branch of medicine concerned with tumors, including study of their development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for oncology, with forms such as "nocology", "ocnology", and "onccology". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "ontology", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested 1857. By surface analysis, onco- + -logy, which see for more. The correct English form is oncology, spelled O-N-C-O-L-O-G-Y.
Definition
- 1The branch of medicine concerned with tumors, including study of their development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Etymology
First attested 1857. By surface analysis, onco- + -logy, which see for more.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- nocology
- ocnology
- onccology
- oncloogy
- oncolgoy
- oncollogy
- oncologgy
- oncologyy
- oncoloyg
- oncoolgy
- onncology
- onoclogy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of oncology - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "oncology"?
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Using “oncology”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-N-C-O-L-O-G-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɒŋˈkɒləd͡ʒi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ontology” - see the side-by-side comparison. oncology vs ontology
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.