response
/ɹɪˈspɒns/
"response" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“response” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #1,000 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,000
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An answer or reply, or something in the nature of an answer or reply.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | response |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈspɒns/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #1,000 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “response” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for response is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈspɒns/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,000 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for response, with forms such as "ersponse", "repsonse", and "resopnse". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "responsive", "repose", "respond", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English respounse, respons, from Old French respons, respuns, responce, ultimately from the Latin respōnsum, a nominal use of the neuter form of respōnsus, the perfect passive participle of respondeō, from re (“again”) + spondeō (“promise”). Dou… The correct English form is response, spelled R-E-S-P-O-N-S-E.
Definition
- 1An answer or reply, or something in the nature of an answer or reply.
- 2The act of responding or replying; reply: as, to speak in response to a question.
- 3An oracular answer.
- 4A verse, sentence, phrase, or word said or sung by the choir or congregation in sequence or reply to the priest or officiant.
- 5A versicle or anthem said or sung during or after a lection; a respond or responsory.
- 6A reply to an objection in formal disputation.
- 7An online advertising performance metric representing one click-through from an online ad to its destination URL.
- 8A reaction to a stimulus or provocation.
Etymology
From Middle English respounse, respons, from Old French respons, respuns, responce, ultimately from the Latin respōnsum, a nominal use of the neuter form of respōnsus, the perfect passive participle of respondeō, from re (“again”) + spondeō (“promise”). Doublet of responsum.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ersponse,repsonse,resopnse,respnose,respones,responnse,responsse,resposne,respponse,ressponse,rresponse,rseponse
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of response - 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.
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
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Using “response”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-S-P-O-N-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɪˈspɒns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “responsive” - see the side-by-side comparison. response vs responsive
- 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.