penchant

/ˈpɒnʃɒn/

//ˈpɒnʃɒn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“penchant” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,551. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,551
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Taste, liking, or inclination (for).

Corpus desk

Index EN-penchant · penchant · English

penchant · rank #26,551 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,551
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pembroke

Nearest frequency peer: Pembroke (-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 “penchant”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “penchant” 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).

penchant vs pendant
75% similar
penchant vs pennant
75% similar

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

Key facts for penchant
PropertyValue
Headwordpenchant
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɒnʃɒn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#26,551
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “penchant”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Pembroke” (#26,550), “pelican” (#26,549), “planar” (#26,553). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “penchant” is #26,551. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around penchant (IPA /ˈpɒnʃɒn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,551 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for penchant, with forms such as "epnchant", "pecnhant", and "pencahnt". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "pendant", "pennant", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French penchant, present participle of pencher (“to tilt, to lean”), from Middle French, from Old French pengier (“to tilt, be out of line”), from Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, a derivative of Latin pendere (“to hang”). The correct English form is penchant, spelled P-E-N-C-H-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Taste, liking, or inclination (for).
  2. 2
    A card game resembling bezique.
  3. 3
    In the game of penchant, any queen and jack of different suits held at the same time.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He has a penchant for fine wine.
  2. Marie even then began the course which, in after-years, secured her so vast an influence in the court,—alternately taking up and laying down her claim to the youthful monarch's penchant; administering to his amusement, and ready to encourage his passing fancies.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French penchant, present participle of pencher (“to tilt, to lean”), from Middle French, from Old French pengier (“to tilt, be out of line”), from Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, a derivative of Latin pendere (“to hang”).

Synonyms

desirepredilection

This word in other languages

afición(Español)penchant(Français)Vorliebe(Deutsch)inclinação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • epnchant
  • pecnhant
  • pencahnt
  • pencchant
  • penchannt
  • penchantt
  • penchatn
  • penchhant
  • penchnat
  • penhcant
  • pennchant
  • pnechant
  • ppenchant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of penchant - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

epnchant2pecnhant2pencahnt2pencchant1penchannt1penchantt1penchatn2penchhant1
Edit distance from "penchant"

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 "penchant"?
"penchant" is spelled P-E-N-C-H-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɒnʃɒn/.
What does "penchant" mean?
As a noun, "penchant" means: Taste, liking, or inclination (for).
What words are commonly confused with "penchant"?
"penchant" is commonly confused with "pendant", "pennant". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "penchant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "penchant" is /ˈpɒnʃɒn/. 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 "penchant"?
Unadapted borrowing from French penchant, present participle of pencher (“to tilt, to lean”), from Middle French, from Old French pengier (“to tilt, be out of line”), from Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, a derivative of Latin pendere (“to hang”). 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 "penchant", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Pembroke#26,550polygamy#26,555ponytail#26,556Pacquiao#26,543

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

scheming13 variantsScotsman13 variantsMcMaster13 variantsslashing13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list