relevant

/ˈɹɛləvənt/

//ˈɹɛləvənt// adj

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

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

The verdict

“relevant” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,461. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,461
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Related, connected, or pertinent to a topic.

Corpus desk

Index EN-relevant · relevant · English

relevant · rank #2,461 · 12 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,461
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH referred

Nearest frequency peer: referred (-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 “relevant”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “relevant” 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).

relevant vs reliant
75% similar
relevant vs relevance
78% similar
relevant vs relevancy
78% similar

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

Key facts for relevant
PropertyValue
Headwordrelevant
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɹɛləvənt/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,461
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “relevant”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).relevantlands 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 “referred” (#2,460), “seek” (#2,462), “recommend” (#2,459). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “relevant” is #2,461. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around relevant (IPA /ˈɹɛləvənt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,461 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for relevant, with forms such as "erlevant", "reelvant", and "releavnt". 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, "reliant", "relevance", "relevancy", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Scots relevant meaning "legally pertinent," used in Scottish legal circles starting in the early 1500s, and first used in English in the 1700s. Borrowed from Latin relevāns, relevāntem, present active participle of relevō (“lift up again, lighten, reli… The correct English form is relevant, spelled R-E-L-E-V-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Related, connected, or pertinent to a topic.
  2. 2
    Related, connected, or pertinent to a topic.
  3. 3
    Not out of date; current.
  4. 4
    Famous, popular, or noteworthy in a contemporary context.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. His mother provided some relevant background information concerning his medical condition.
  2. Although autistic women with AN have cited concerns with weight/shape as less relevant in the development of their ED (Kinnaird, Norton, Stewart, et al., 2019), these could still have been a contributing factor.

Etymology

From Scots relevant meaning "legally pertinent," used in Scottish legal circles starting in the early 1500s, and first used in English in the 1700s. Borrowed from Latin relevāns, relevāntem, present active participle of relevō (“lift up again, lighten, relieve”), from re- (“again”) + levō (“lift”).

Synonyms

applicablegermanein pointpertinentsalientcurrentprevailingprevalentrifeup-to-date

Antonyms

irrelevant

This word in other languages

pertinente(Español)pertinent(Français)relevant(Deutsch)relevante(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erlevant
  • reelvant
  • releavnt
  • relevannt
  • relevantt
  • relevatn
  • relevnat
  • relevvant
  • rellevant
  • relveant
  • rleevant
  • rrelevant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

erlevant2reelvant2releavnt2relevannt1relevantt1relevatn2relevnat2relevvant1
Edit distance from "relevant"

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 "relevant"?
"relevant" is spelled R-E-L-E-V-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɛləvənt/.
What does "relevant" mean?
As an adjective, "relevant" means: Related, connected, or pertinent to a topic.
What words are commonly confused with "relevant"?
"relevant" is commonly confused with "reliant", "relevance", "relevancy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "relevant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "relevant" is /ˈɹɛləvənt/. 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 "relevant"?
From Scots relevant meaning "legally pertinent," used in Scottish legal circles starting in the early 1500s, and first used in English in the 1700s. Borrowed from Latin relevāns, relevāntem, present active participle of relevō (“lift up again, lig... 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 "relevant", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

referred#2,460laughing#2,452improved#2,449hundreds#2,447

Similar misspelling depth

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

recommend12 variantsdirected12 variantsfacility12 variantscustomer12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list