pollution

/pəˈljuːʃən/

//pəˈljuːʃən// noun

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

"pollution" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pollution” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,153. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,153
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Physical contamination, now especially the contamination of the environment by harmful substances, or by disruptive levels of noise, light etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pollution · pollution · English

pollution · rank #5,153 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,153
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pointing

Nearest frequency peer: pointing (-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 “pollution”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pollution” 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).

pollution vs polluting
78% similar

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

Key facts for pollution
PropertyValue
Headwordpollution
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈljuːʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#5,153
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pollution”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “pointing” (#5,152), “precisely” (#5,154), “pic” (#5,151). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pollution” is #5,153. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around pollution (IPA /pəˈljuːʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,153 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for pollution, with forms such as "opllution", "plolution", and "polltuion". 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, "polluting", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pollucioun, pollucion (“desecration, impurity”), from Anglo-Norman pollutiun, Middle French pollution, pollucion, and their source, post-classical Latin pollūtiō (“defilement, desecration; nocturnal emission”) (4th century), from the par… The correct English form is pollution, spelled P-O-L-L-U-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Physical contamination, now especially the contamination of the environment by harmful substances, or by disruptive levels of noise, light etc.
  2. 2
    Something that pollutes; a pollutant.
  3. 3
    The desecration of something holy or sacred; defilement, profanation.
  4. 4
    The ejaculation of semen outside of sexual intercourse, especially a nocturnal emission.
  5. 5
    Moral or spiritual corruption; impurity, degradation, defilement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Pollution levels are almost always higher in cities rather than the countryside, what with the cars, industry and so on.
  2. If successful, Edison and Ford—in 1914—would move society away from the[…]hazards of gasoline cars: air and water pollution, noise and noxiousness, constant coughing and the undeniable rise in cancers caused by smoke exhaust particulates.

Etymology

From Middle English pollucioun, pollucion (“desecration, impurity”), from Anglo-Norman pollutiun, Middle French pollution, pollucion, and their source, post-classical Latin pollūtiō (“defilement, desecration; nocturnal emission”) (4th century), from the participial stem of polluō (“to soil, defile, contaminate”), from por- (“before”) + -luō (“to smear”), related to lutum (“mud”) and luēs (“filth”). Compare Ancient Greek λῦμα (lûma, “filth, dirt, disgrace”) and λῦμαξ (lûmax, “rubbish, refuse”), Old Irish loth (“mud, dirt”), Lithuanian lutynas (“pool, puddle”).

This word in other languages

polución(Español)pollution(Français)Verunreinigung(Deutsch)poluição(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opllution
  • plolution
  • polltuion
  • polluiton
  • pollusion
  • pollutino
  • pollutionn
  • pollutoin
  • polluttion
  • polultion
  • polution
  • ppollution

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pollution - 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.

opllution2plolution2polltuion2polluiton2pollusion1pollutino2pollutionn1pollutoin2
Edit distance from "pollution"

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 "pollution"?
"pollution" is spelled P-O-L-L-U-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈljuːʃən/.
What does "pollution" mean?
As a noun, "pollution" means: Physical contamination, now especially the contamination of the environment by harmful substances, or by disruptive levels of noise, light etc.
What words are commonly confused with "pollution"?
"pollution" is commonly confused with "polluting". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pollution"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pollution" is /pəˈljuːʃən/. 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 "pollution"?
From Middle English pollucioun, pollucion (“desecration, impurity”), from Anglo-Norman pollutiun, Middle French pollution, pollucion, and their source, post-classical Latin pollūtiō (“defilement, desecration; nocturnal emission”) (4th century), fr... 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 "pollution", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

precisely#5,154privilege#5,156proposals#5,157paintings#5,148

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

pointing12 variantsprisoner12 variantspatience12 variantsmarijuana12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list