recent

/ˈɹiː.sənt/

//ˈɹiː.sənt// adj

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

"recent" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“recent” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #977. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#977
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having happened a short while ago.

Corpus desk

Index EN-recent · recent · English

recent · rank #977 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #977
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH products

Nearest frequency peer: products (-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 “recent”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “recent” 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).

recent vs rent
67% similar
recent vs reset
67% similar
recent vs recon
67% similar

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

Key facts for recent
PropertyValue
Headwordrecent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɹiː.sənt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#977
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “recent”

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).recentlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “products” (#976), “seeing” (#978), “piece” (#975). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “recent” is #977. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around recent (IPA /ˈɹiː.sənt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #977 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for recent, with forms such as "ercent", "rceent", and "reccent". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "rent", "reset", "recon", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin recēns (genitive recentis). The correct English form is recent, spelled R-E-C-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having happened a short while ago.
  2. 2
    Up-to-date; not old-fashioned or dated.
  3. 3
    Having done something a short while ago that distinguishes them as what they are called.
  4. 4
    Particularly in geology, palaeontology, and astronomy: having occurred a relatively short time ago, but still potentially thousands or even millions of years ago.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.
  2. The cause has several hundred recent donors.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin recēns (genitive recentis).

This word in other languages

reciente(Español)récent(Français)neu(Deutsch)recente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ercent
  • rceent
  • reccent
  • recennt
  • recentt
  • recetn
  • recnet
  • reecnt
  • rrecent

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ercent2rceent2reccent1recennt1recentt1recetn2recnet2reecnt2
Edit distance from "recent"

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 "recent"?
"recent" is spelled R-E-C-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹiː.sənt/.
What does "recent" mean?
As an adjective, "recent" means: Having happened a short while ago.
What words are commonly confused with "recent"?
"recent" is commonly confused with "rent", "reset", "recon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "recent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "recent" is /ˈɹiː.sənt/. 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 "recent"?
Borrowed from Latin recēns (genitive recentis). 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 "recent", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

seeing#978George#969Europe#968growth#992

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

places9 variantsmissing9 variantscharge9 variantsexcept9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list