pornographic

/ˌpɔː(ɹ)nəˈɡɹæfɪk/

//ˌpɔː(ɹ)nəˈɡɹæfɪk// adj

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

"pornographic" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pornographic” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,071. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,071
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
19
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Containing an explicit depiction of sexual activity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pornographic · pornographic · English

pornographic · rank #23,071 · 19 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #23,071
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH popularly

Nearest frequency peer: popularly (-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 “pornographic”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pornographic” 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).

pornographic vs pornography
83% similar

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

Key facts for pornographic
PropertyValue
Headwordpornographic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌpɔː(ɹ)nəˈɡɹæfɪk/
Letters12
Frequency rank#23,071
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pornographic”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).pornographiclands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “popularly” (#23,070), “posse” (#23,072), “polytechnic” (#23,069). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pornographic” is #23,071. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around pornographic (IPA /ˌpɔː(ɹ)nəˈɡɹæfɪk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #23,071 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Containing an explicit depiction of sexual activity.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for pornographic, with forms such as "oprnographic", "ponrographic", and "porngoraphic". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "pornography", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pornography + -ic. The correct English form is pornographic, spelled P-O-R-N-O-G-R-A-P-H-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Containing an explicit depiction of sexual activity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Trying to write honestly about pornographic films is like trying to tie one's shoe while walking: it's practically impossible without sacrificing stride and balance and a certain amount of ordinary dignity, the sort one uses with bank tellers who question a signature.
  2. The intent to make the "MMR question" as serious as possible resulted in an almost pornographic obsession with suffering children.

Etymology

From pornography + -ic.

Synonyms

18+adultbluegraphicmuckypornographicpornographicalrudeX-ratedXXXXXXX

Antonyms

nonpornographicunpornographic

This word in other languages

pornográfico(Español)pornographique(Français)pornographisch(Deutsch)pornográfico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oprnographic
  • ponrographic
  • porngoraphic
  • pornnographic
  • pornogarphic
  • pornoggraphic
  • pornograhpic
  • pornographci
  • pornographhic
  • pornographicc
  • pornograpihc
  • pornograpphic
  • pornogrpahic
  • pornogrraphic
  • pornorgaphic
  • porongraphic
  • porrnographic
  • ppornographic
  • pronographic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pornographic - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

oprnographic2ponrographic2porngoraphic2pornnographic1pornogarphic2pornoggraphic1pornograhpic2pornographci2
Edit distance from "pornographic"

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 "pornographic"?
"pornographic" is spelled P-O-R-N-O-G-R-A-P-H-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpɔː(ɹ)nəˈɡɹæfɪk/.
What does "pornographic" mean?
As an adjective, "pornographic" means: Containing an explicit depiction of sexual activity.
What words are commonly confused with "pornographic"?
"pornographic" is commonly confused with "pornography". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pornographic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pornographic" is /ˌpɔː(ɹ)nəˈɡɹæfɪk/. 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 "pornographic"?
From pornography + -ic. 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 "pornographic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

penitentiary#23,059intermediary#23,010Huddersfield#23,000horticulture#22,998

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

informational19 variantshandkerchief19 variantscarbohydrate19 variantsphilharmonic19 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list