posterity

/pɒˈstɛɹɪti/

//pɒˈstɛɹɪti// noun

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

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

The verdict

“posterity” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,183. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,183
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - All the future generations, especially the descendants of a specific person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-posterity · posterity · English

posterity · rank #30,183 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,183
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH posthumous

Nearest frequency peer: posthumous (+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 “posterity”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “posterity” 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).

posterity vs prosperity
80% similar
posterity vs posterior
78% similar

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

Key facts for posterity
PropertyValue
Headwordposterity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɒˈstɛɹɪti/
Letters9
Frequency rank#30,183
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “posterity”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “posthumous” (#30,184), “pounce” (#30,185), “pooling” (#30,180). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “posterity” is #30,183. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around posterity (IPA /pɒˈstɛɹɪti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,183 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for posterity, with forms such as "opsterity", "posetrity", and "possterity". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "prosperity", "posterior", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late 14th century, from Middle French posterité, from Latin posteritas, from posterus (“following, coming after”), from post (“after”) (English post-). The correct English form is posterity, spelled P-O-S-T-E-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    All the future generations, especially the descendants of a specific person.
  2. 2
    Future audiences, future times, future recognition.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement.

Etymology

Late 14th century, from Middle French posterité, from Latin posteritas, from posterus (“following, coming after”), from post (“after”) (English post-).

This word in other languages

posteridad(Español)postérité(Français)Nachwelt(Deutsch)posteridade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opsterity
  • posetrity
  • possterity
  • posteirty
  • posteritty
  • posterityy
  • posteriyt
  • posterrity
  • postertiy
  • postreity
  • postterity
  • potserity
  • pposterity
  • psoterity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of posterity - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

opsterity2posetrity2possterity1posteirty2posteritty1posterityy1posteriyt2posterrity1
Edit distance from "posterity"

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 "posterity"?
"posterity" is spelled P-O-S-T-E-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /pɒˈstɛɹɪti/.
What does "posterity" mean?
As a noun, "posterity" means: All the future generations, especially the descendants of a specific person.
What words are commonly confused with "posterity"?
"posterity" is commonly confused with "prosperity", "posterior". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "posterity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "posterity" is /pɒˈstɛɹɪti/. 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 "posterity"?
Late 14th century, from Middle French posterité, from Latin posteritas, from posterus (“following, coming after”), from post (“after”) (English post-). 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 "posterity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

pessimism#30,173rejoicing#30,198pacemaker#30,165overjoyed#30,164

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

quantified14 variantsresentful14 variantsnavigable14 variantstyrannical14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list