premonition

/ˌpriːməˈnɪʃən/

//ˌpriːməˈnɪʃən// noun

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

"premonition" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“premonition” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #44,417. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#44,417
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A clairvoyant or clairaudient experience, such as a dream, which resonates with some event in the future.

Corpus desk

Index EN-premonition · premonition · English

premonition · rank #44,417 · 17 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #44,417
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH prelate

Nearest frequency peer: prelate (-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 “premonition”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “premonition” 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).

premonition vs preposition
82% similar
premonition vs precondition
83% similar

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

Key facts for premonition
PropertyValue
Headwordpremonition
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpriːməˈnɪʃən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#44,417
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “premonition”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).premonitionlands 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 “prelate” (#44,416), “preferentially” (#44,415), “pretenders” (#44,419). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “premonition” is #44,417. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around premonition (IPA /ˌpriːməˈnɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #44,417 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for premonition, with forms such as "permonition", "ppremonition", and "premmonition". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "preposition", "precondition", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: First use appears c. 1533. From Anglo-Norman premunition, from Ecclesiastical Latin praemonitiōnem (“a forewarning”), form of praemonitiō, from Latin praemonitus, past participle of praemoneō, from prae (“before”) (English pre-) + moneō (“to warn”) (from wh… The correct English form is premonition, spelled P-R-E-M-O-N-I-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A clairvoyant or clairaudient experience, such as a dream, which resonates with some event in the future.
  2. 2
    A strong intuition that something is about to happen (usually something negative, but not exclusively).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The sinister face of Dr. Bauerstein recurred to me unpleasantly. A vague suspicion of everyone and everything filled my mind. Just for a moment I had a premonition of approaching evil.

Etymology

First use appears c. 1533. From Anglo-Norman premunition, from Ecclesiastical Latin praemonitiōnem (“a forewarning”), form of praemonitiō, from Latin praemonitus, past participle of praemoneō, from prae (“before”) (English pre-) + moneō (“to warn”) (from which English monitor). Compare Germanic forewarning.

This word in other languages

premonición(Español)prémonition(Français)Vorahnung(Deutsch)premonição(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • permonition
  • ppremonition
  • premmonition
  • premnoition
  • premointion
  • premoniiton
  • premonision
  • premonitino
  • premonitionn
  • premonitoin
  • premonittion
  • premonnition
  • premontiion
  • preomnition
  • prmeonition
  • prremonition
  • rpemonition

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

permonition2ppremonition1premmonition1premnoition2premointion2premoniiton2premonision1premonitino2
Edit distance from "premonition"

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 "premonition"?
"premonition" is spelled P-R-E-M-O-N-I-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpriːməˈnɪʃən/.
What does "premonition" mean?
As a noun, "premonition" means: A clairvoyant or clairaudient experience, such as a dream, which resonates with some event in the future.
What words are commonly confused with "premonition"?
"premonition" is commonly confused with "preposition", "precondition". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "premonition"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "premonition" is /ˌpriːməˈnɪʃən/. 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 "premonition"?
First use appears c. 1533. From Anglo-Norman premunition, from Ecclesiastical Latin praemonitiōnem (“a forewarning”), form of praemonitiō, from Latin praemonitus, past participle of praemoneō, from prae (“before”) (English pre-) + moneō (“to warn”... 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 "premonition", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

religiosity#44,450scrumptious#44,477Spartanburg#44,496Mecklenburg#44,332

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

Stravinsky17 variantsMacclesfield17 variantsupholstered17 variantsinstigation17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list