righteousness

/ˈɹaɪt͡ʃəsnəs/

//ˈɹaɪt͡ʃəsnəs// noun

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

"righteousness" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“righteousness” has 18 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,493. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,493
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
18
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The quality or state of being righteous.

Corpus desk

Index EN-righteousness · righteousness · English

righteousness · rank #15,493 · 18 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,493
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 18 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH revise

Nearest frequency peer: revise (-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 “righteousness”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “righteousness” 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
Key facts for righteousness
PropertyValue
Headwordrighteousness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹaɪt͡ʃəsnəs/
Letters13
Frequency rank#15,493
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “righteousness”

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).righteousnesslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “revise” (#15,492), “rinse” (#15,494), “retrospective” (#15,491). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “righteousness” is #15,493. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around righteousness (IPA /ˈɹaɪt͡ʃəsnəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,493 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for righteousness, with forms such as "irghteousness", "rgihteousness", and "rigghteousness". 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. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier rightwiseness, from Middle English rightwisnes, from Old English rihtwīsnes (“justice”), equivalent to righteous + -ness. The correct English form is righteousness, spelled R-I-G-H-T-E-O-U-S-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality or state of being righteous.
  2. 2
    Holiness; conformity of life to the divine law.
  3. 3
    A righteous act or quality.
  4. 4
    The behaviour of someone who is righteous.
  5. 5
    The state of being right with God; justification; the work of Christ, which is the ground justification.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But in these days of fanaticism, that harsh and violent spirit is abroad, when men clothe their own angry passions in the garb of righteousness, and call persecution vindicating the honour of God.
  2. 21 ¶ I hate, I despise your feast dayes, and I will not smell in your solemne assemblies. 22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings, and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. 23 Take thou away from mee the noise of thy songs: for I will not heare the melodie of thy violes. 24 But let iudgeme…

Etymology

From earlier rightwiseness, from Middle English rightwisnes, from Old English rihtwīsnes (“justice”), equivalent to righteous + -ness.

This word in other languages

rectitud(Español)justice(Français)Rechtschaffenheit(Deutsch)retidão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • irghteousness
  • rgihteousness
  • rigghteousness
  • righetousness
  • righhteousness
  • righteosuness
  • righteounsess
  • righteousenss
  • righteousnes
  • righteousnness
  • righteousnses
  • righteoussness
  • righteuosness
  • rightoeusness
  • rightteousness
  • rigtheousness
  • rihgteousness
  • rrighteousness

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

irghteousness2rgihteousness2rigghteousness1righetousness2righhteousness1righteosuness2righteounsess2righteousenss2
Edit distance from "righteousness"

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 "righteousness"?
"righteousness" is spelled R-I-G-H-T-E-O-U-S-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹaɪt͡ʃəsnəs/.
What does "righteousness" mean?
As a noun, "righteousness" means: The quality or state of being righteous.
What are common misspellings of "righteousness"?
Common misspellings include "irghteousness", "rgihteousness", "rigghteousness", "righetousness", "righhteousness". The correct spelling is "righteousness".
How do you pronounce "righteousness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "righteousness" is /ˈɹaɪt͡ʃəsnəs/. 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 "righteousness"?
From earlier rightwiseness, from Middle English rightwisnes, from Old English rihtwīsnes (“justice”), equivalent to righteous + -ness. 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 "righteousness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

retrospective#15,491progressively#15,481contradictory#15,374unforgettable#15,301

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

biodiversity18 variantsinconvenient18 variantsblockbuster18 variantsrespectfully18 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list