perfection
/pɚˈfɛk.ʃən/
"perfection" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“perfection” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,260 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #7,260
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The quality or state of being perfect or complete, so that nothing substandard remains; the highest attainable state or degree of excellence.
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 | perfection |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pɚˈfɛk.ʃən/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #7,260 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “perfection” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for perfection is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɚˈfɛk.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,260 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for perfection, with forms such as "eprfection", "pefrection", and "perefction". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "persecution", "perception", "perfecting", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English perfeccioun, from Old French perfection, from Latin perfectiō. Equivalent to perfect + -ion. Displaced native Old English fulfremednes. The correct English form is perfection, spelled P-E-R-F-E-C-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The quality or state of being perfect or complete, so that nothing substandard remains; the highest attainable state or degree of excellence.
- 2A quality, endowment, or acquirement completely excellent; an ideal; faultlessness; especially, the divine attribute of complete excellence.
- 3The process or act of establishing official recognition for a legal claim, generally in the context of security interests.
Etymology
From Middle English perfeccioun, from Old French perfection, from Latin perfectiō. Equivalent to perfect + -ion. Displaced native Old English fulfremednes.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eprfection,pefrection,perefction,perfcetion,perfecction,perfeciton,perfecsion,perfectino,perfectionn,perfectoin,perfecttion,perfetcion,perffection,perrfection,pperfection,prefection
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of perfection - 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
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Using “perfection”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-E-R-F-E-C-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɚˈfɛk.ʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “persecution” - see the side-by-side comparison. perfection vs persecution
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.