pursuing

/pəˈsjuː.ɪŋ/

//pəˈsjuː.ɪŋ// verb

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

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

The verdict

“pursuing” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,598. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,598
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of pursue

Corpus desk

Index EN-pursuing · pursuing · English

pursuing · rank #7,598 · 12 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,598
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH processed

Nearest frequency peer: processed (-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 “pursuing”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pursuing” 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).

pursuing vs pushing
75% similar
pursuing vs pursuit
75% similar
pursuing vs purging
75% similar

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

Key facts for pursuing
PropertyValue
Headwordpursuing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pəˈsjuː.ɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#7,598
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pursuing”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).pursuinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “processed” (#7,597), “puzzle” (#7,599), “preview” (#7,596). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pursuing” is #7,598. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around pursuing (IPA /pəˈsjuː.ɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #7,598 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of pursue".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for pursuing, with forms such as "ppursuing", "prusuing", and "purrsuing". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "pushing", "pursuit", "purging", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is pursuing, spelled P-U-R-S-U-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of pursue

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ppursuing
  • prusuing
  • purrsuing
  • pursiung
  • purssuing
  • pursuign
  • pursuingg
  • pursuinng
  • pursunig
  • purusing
  • pusruing
  • uprsuing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pursuing - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ppursuing1prusuing2purrsuing1pursiung2purssuing1pursuign2pursuingg1pursuinng1
Edit distance from "pursuing"

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 "pursuing"?
"pursuing" is spelled P-U-R-S-U-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈsjuː.ɪŋ/.
What does "pursuing" mean?
As a verb, "pursuing" means: present participle and gerund of pursue
What words are commonly confused with "pursuing"?
"pursuing" is commonly confused with "pushing", "pursuit", "purging". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pursuing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pursuing" is /pəˈsjuː.ɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pursuing" come from?
"pursuing" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "pursuing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

renowned#7,603socially#7,610maritime#7,581lectures#7,576

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

processed12 variantslightly12 variantsinvestor12 variantsintegral12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list