pretence

/ˈpɹiːtɛns/

//ˈpɹiːtɛns// noun

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

"pretence" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pretence” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,401. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,401
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - British standard spelling of pretense.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pretence · pretence · English

pretence · rank #40,401 · 13 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,401
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH powerball

Nearest frequency peer: powerball (-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 “pretence”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pretence” 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).

pretence vs pretend
75% similar
pretence vs prudence
75% similar
pretence vs Provence
63% similar

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

Key facts for pretence
PropertyValue
Headwordpretence
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɹiːtɛns/
Letters8
Frequency rank#40,401
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pretence”

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).pretencelands 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 “powerball” (#40,400), “Priyanka” (#40,402), “PSL” (#40,404). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pretence” is #40,401. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around pretence (IPA /ˈpɹiːtɛns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #40,401 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "British standard spelling of pretense.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for pretence, with forms such as "pertence", "ppretence", and "preetnce". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "pretend", "prudence", "Provence", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is pretence, spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    British standard spelling of pretense.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pertence
  • ppretence
  • preetnce
  • pretance
  • pretecne
  • pretencce
  • pretenec
  • pretennce
  • pretnece
  • prettence
  • prretence
  • prteence
  • rpetence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

pertence2ppretence1preetnce2pretance1pretecne2pretencce1pretenec2pretennce1
Edit distance from "pretence"

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 "pretence"?
"pretence" is spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹiːtɛns/.
What does "pretence" mean?
As a noun, "pretence" means: British standard spelling of pretense.
What words are commonly confused with "pretence"?
"pretence" is commonly confused with "pretend", "prudence", "Provence". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pretence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pretence" is /ˈpɹiːtɛns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pretence" come from?
"pretence" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "pretence", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Priyanka#40,402petulant#40,386revoking#40,419paraffin#40,380

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

obstinate13 variantsmodulator13 variantsTamworth13 variantsloitering13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list