scalding
"scalding" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scalding” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #46,758 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #46,758
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 14
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Hot enough to burn.
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 | scalding |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #46,758 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 14 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “scalding” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for scalding is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective. Corpus data places it at rank #46,758 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for scalding, with forms such as "csalding", "saclding", and "scadling". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "scaling", "sealing", "shading", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From scald + -ing. The correct English form is scalding, spelled S-C-A-L-D-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Hot enough to burn.
- 2Scorching; scathing.
Etymology
From scald + -ing.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: csalding,saclding,scadling,scaldding,scaldign,scaldingg,scaldinng,scaldnig,scalidng,scallding,sccalding,sclading,sscalding
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of scalding - 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
How do you spell "scalding"?
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Using “scalding”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-A-L-D-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “scaling” - see the side-by-side comparison. scalding vs scaling
- 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.