repression

Name: repression, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“repression” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,825. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,825
frequency rank, English: 3,094
“R” headwords: 14
tracked misspellings: 3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of repressing; state of being repressed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-repression · repression · English

repression · rank #14,825 · 14 variants · 3 confusables

FREQ-MID #14,825
LEN-MEGA 10 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
VAR-HIGH 14 variants
BOOK-MID 3,094
PHOTO-FINISH reprinted

Nearest frequency peer: reprinted (+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.

relentless

85,178
repression

85,176
reprinted

85,175
resolving

85,174
ridiculously

85,173
roaring

85,172

What this shows “repression” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

repression vs repressive

80% similar

repression vs recession

80% similar

repression vs regression

90% similar

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

Key facts for repression
Property	Value
Headword	repression
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#14,825
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	3
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “repression”

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

#14,825

#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 “reprinted” (#14,826), “relentless” (#14,823), “resolving” (#14,827). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “repression” is #14,825. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around repression, anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,825 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for repression, with forms such as "erpression", "reperssion", and "reppression". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "repressive", "recession", "regression", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From repress + -ion. The correct English form is repression, spelled R-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-O-N.

Definition

1
The act of repressing; state of being repressed.
2
The involuntary rejection from consciousness of painful or disagreeable ideas, memories, feelings, or impulses.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

History shows that when governments fear the truth and increase repression, their days are limited.

Etymology

From repress + -ion.

This word in other languages

represión(Español)répression(Français)Repression(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

erpression
reperssion
reppression
represion
represison
repressino
repressionn
repressoin
represtion
reprression
reprsesion
rerpession
rperession
rrepression

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "repression"

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 "repression"?

"repression" is spelled R-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-O-N.

What does "repression" mean?

As a noun, "repression" means: The act of repressing; state of being repressed.

What words are commonly confused with "repression"?

"repression" is commonly confused with "repressive", "recession", "regression". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

What is the origin of the word "repression"?

From repress + -ion. 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 "repression", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

relentless#14,823 profoundly#14,816 procedural#14,815 parenthood#14,806

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

reprinted14 variants resolving14 variants Salisbury14 variants preschool14 variants