pregnancy

/ˈpɹɛɡnənsi/

//ˈpɹɛɡnənsi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“pregnancy” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,105. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,105
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The condition of being pregnant; an instance of this.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pregnancy · pregnancy · English

pregnancy · rank #4,105 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,105
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH precious

Nearest frequency peer: precious (-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 “pregnancy”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pregnancy” 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).

pregnancy vs pregnant
78% similar

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

Key facts for pregnancy
PropertyValue
Headwordpregnancy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɹɛɡnənsi/
Letters9
Frequency rank#4,105
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pregnancy”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pregnancylands 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 “precious” (#4,104), “premium” (#4,106), “preparing” (#4,107). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pregnancy” is #4,105. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around pregnancy (IPA /ˈpɹɛɡnənsi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,105 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for pregnancy, with forms such as "pergnancy", "ppregnancy", and "preganncy". 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, "pregnant", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pregnant + -cy. The correct English form is pregnancy, spelled P-R-E-G-N-A-N-C-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The condition of being pregnant; an instance of this.
  2. 2
    The period of time this condition prevails.
  3. 3
    The progression of stages from conception to birth.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. News that the duchess is in the "very early stages" of pregnancy with the third-in-line to the throne was officially released after she was taken to the King Edward VII hospital in central London, suffering from hyperemesis gravidarun, very acute morning sickness.
  2. Viable non-malformed singleton pregnancies were selected for cerebellar measurements; transcerebellar diameter, (TCD), left and right cerebellar diameters (LCD, RCD).

Etymology

From pregnant + -cy.

Synonyms

cyesisgestationgravidationgraviditypregnation

This word in other languages

embarazo(Español)grossesse(Français)Schwangerschaft(Deutsch)gravidez(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pergnancy
  • ppregnancy
  • preganncy
  • preggnancy
  • pregnacny
  • pregnanccy
  • pregnancyy
  • pregnanncy
  • pregnanyc
  • pregnnacy
  • pregnnancy
  • prengancy
  • prgenancy
  • prregnancy
  • rpegnancy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

pergnancy2ppregnancy1preganncy2preggnancy1pregnacny2pregnanccy1pregnancyy1pregnanncy1
Edit distance from "pregnancy"

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 "pregnancy"?
"pregnancy" is spelled P-R-E-G-N-A-N-C-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɛɡnənsi/.
What does "pregnancy" mean?
As a noun, "pregnancy" means: The condition of being pregnant; an instance of this.
What words are commonly confused with "pregnancy"?
"pregnancy" is commonly confused with "pregnant". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pregnancy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pregnancy" is /ˈpɹɛɡnənsi/. 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 "pregnancy"?
From pregnant + -cy. 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 "pregnancy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

preparing#4,107prominent#4,110requested#4,114intention#4,095

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

mechanical15 variantsremembered15 variantsstruggling15 variantselementary15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list