scathing

/ˈskeɪðɪŋ/

//ˈskeɪðɪŋ// verb

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

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

The verdict

“scathing” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,215. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,215
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of scathe

Corpus desk

Index EN-scathing · scathing · English

scathing · rank #30,215 · 13 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,215
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH scour

Nearest frequency peer: scour (+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 “scathing”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “scathing” 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).

scathing vs stating
75% similar
scathing vs skating
75% similar
scathing vs seating
75% similar

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

Key facts for scathing
PropertyValue
Headwordscathing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈskeɪðɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#30,215
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “scathing”

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).scathinglands 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 “scour” (#30,216), “Seagulls” (#30,217), “sapiens” (#30,212). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “scathing” is #30,215. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around scathing (IPA /ˈskeɪðɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #30,215 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of scathe".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for scathing, with forms such as "csathing", "sacthing", and "scahting". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "stating", "skating", "seating", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is scathing, spelled S-C-A-T-H-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of scathe

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • csathing
  • sacthing
  • scahting
  • scathhing
  • scathign
  • scathingg
  • scathinng
  • scathnig
  • scatihng
  • scatthing
  • sccathing
  • sctahing
  • sscathing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

csathing2sacthing2scahting2scathhing1scathign2scathingg1scathinng1scathnig2
Edit distance from "scathing"

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 "scathing"?
"scathing" is spelled S-C-A-T-H-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈskeɪðɪŋ/.
What does "scathing" mean?
As a verb, "scathing" means: present participle and gerund of scathe
What words are commonly confused with "scathing"?
"scathing" is commonly confused with "stating", "skating", "seating". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "scathing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scathing" is /ˈskeɪðɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "scathing" come from?
"scathing" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "scathing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Seagulls#30,217shredder#30,223snorting#30,233sociable#30,235

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Riverdale13 variantsrejoicing13 variantsstifling13 variantstalkative13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list