propensity
/pɹəˈpɛnsɪti/
"propensity" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“propensity” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,641 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #23,641
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An inclination, disposition, tendency, preference, or attraction.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | propensity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pɹəˈpɛnsɪti/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #23,641 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “propensity” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for propensity is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹəˈpɛnsɪti/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,641 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "An inclination, disposition, tendency, preference, or attraction.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for propensity, with forms such as "porpensity", "ppropensity", and "proepnsity". 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. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from New Latin prōpensitās. By surface analysis, propense (“inclined, disposed”) + -ity. The correct English form is propensity, spelled P-R-O-P-E-N-S-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1An inclination, disposition, tendency, preference, or attraction.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from New Latin prōpensitās. By surface analysis, propense (“inclined, disposed”) + -ity.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: porpensity,ppropensity,proepnsity,propenisty,propennsity,propensitty,propensityy,propensiyt,propenssity,propenstiy,propesnity,propnesity,proppensity,prpoensity,prropensity,rpopensity
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of propensity - 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.
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 "propensity"?
What does "propensity" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “propensity”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-P-E-N-S-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɹəˈpɛnsɪti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.