recant
/ɹəˈkænt/
"recant" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“recant” is an uncommon English word, ranked #58,307 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #58,307
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To withdraw or repudiate a statement or opinion formerly expressed, especially formally and publicly.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | recant |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɹəˈkænt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #58,307 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “recant” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for recant is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹəˈkænt/. Corpus data places it at rank #58,307 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To withdraw or repudiate a statement or opinion formerly expressed, especially formally and publicly.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for recant in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1535, from Latin recantare (“to sing back, reecho, sing again, repeat in singing, recant, recall, revoke, charm back or away”), from re- (“back”) + canto (“to chant, to sing”), frequentative of cano. The correct English form is recant, spelled R-E-C-A-N-T.
Definition
- 1To withdraw or repudiate a statement or opinion formerly expressed, especially formally and publicly.
Etymology
First attested in 1535, from Latin recantare (“to sing back, reecho, sing again, repeat in singing, recant, recall, revoke, charm back or away”), from re- (“back”) + canto (“to chant, to sing”), frequentative of cano.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
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.
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Using “recant”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-C-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹəˈkænt/ (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.