progression

/pɹəˈɡɹɛʃn̩/

//pɹəˈɡɹɛʃn̩// noun

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

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

The verdict

“progression” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,333. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,333
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of moving from one thing to another.

Corpus desk

Index EN-progression · progression · English

progression · rank #8,333 · 16 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,333
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pharmaceutical

Nearest frequency peer: pharmaceutical (-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 “progression”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “progression” 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).

progression vs progressive
82% similar
progression vs profession
82% similar
progression vs procession
82% similar

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

Key facts for progression
PropertyValue
Headwordprogression
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɹəˈɡɹɛʃn̩/
Letters11
Frequency rank#8,333
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “progression”

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).progressionlands 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 “pharmaceutical” (#8,332), “Quinn” (#8,334), “petroleum” (#8,331). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “progression” is #8,333. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around progression (IPA /pɹəˈɡɹɛʃn̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,333 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for progression, with forms such as "porgression", "pprogression", and "prgoression". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "progressive", "profession", "procession", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English progressioun, from Old French progression and its etymon Latin prōgressiō. By surface analysis, progress + -ion. The correct English form is progression, spelled P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of moving from one thing to another.
  2. 2
    The act of moving forward or proceeding in a course; motion onward.
  3. 3
    A sequence obtained by adding or multiplying each term by a constant.
  4. 4
    Development, increase, evolution.
  5. 5
    A chord progression.
  6. 6
    The process of making an exercise more strenuous by manipulating the details of its performance like loaded weight, range of motion, angle, speed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Make a natural progression from player to coach
  2. The lowest risk for kidney disease progression seemed to be at levels of current systolic blood pressure of 110 to 129 mm Hg.

Etymology

From Middle English progressioun, from Old French progression and its etymon Latin prōgressiō. By surface analysis, progress + -ion.

Synonyms

sequence

Antonyms

regressretrogression

This word in other languages

progresión(Español)progression(Français)Fortschreiten(Deutsch)progressão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porgression
  • pprogression
  • prgoression
  • progerssion
  • proggression
  • progresion
  • progresison
  • progressino
  • progressionn
  • progressoin
  • progrestion
  • progrression
  • progrsesion
  • prorgession
  • prrogression
  • rpogression

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

porgression2pprogression1prgoression2progerssion2proggression1progresion1progresison2progressino2
Edit distance from "progression"

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 "progression"?
"progression" is spelled P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹəˈɡɹɛʃn̩/.
What does "progression" mean?
As a noun, "progression" means: The act of moving from one thing to another.
What words are commonly confused with "progression"?
"progression" is commonly confused with "progressive", "profession", "procession". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "progression"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "progression" is /pɹəˈɡɹɛʃn̩/. 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 "progression"?
From Middle English progressioun, from Old French progression and its etymon Latin prōgressiō. By surface analysis, progress + -ion. 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 "progression", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

hospitality#8,300trafficking#8,369destructive#8,410accountable#8,230

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

persistent16 variantsMcDonald's16 variantsindividually16 variantsdiscretion16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list