sentence

/ˈsɛn.təns/

//ˈsɛn.təns// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sentence” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,599. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,599
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The decision or judgement of a jury or court; a verdict.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sentence · sentence · English

sentence · rank #2,599 · 13 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,599
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH senator

Nearest frequency peer: senator (-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 “sentence”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sentence” 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).

sentence vs sequence
75% similar
sentence vs sentences
89% similar
sentence vs sentenced
89% similar

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

Key facts for sentence
PropertyValue
Headwordsentence
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɛn.təns/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,599
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sentence”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sentencelands 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 “senator” (#2,598), “teeth” (#2,600), “seeking” (#2,597). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sentence” is #2,599. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around sentence (IPA /ˈsɛn.təns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,599 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for sentence, with forms such as "esntence", "senetnce", and "senntence". 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. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "sequence", "sentences", "sentenced", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French sentence, from Latin sententia (“way of thinking, opinion, sentiment”), from sentiēns, present participle of sentiō (“to feel, think”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to feel”). The correct English form is sentence, spelled S-E-N-T-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The decision or judgement of a jury or court; a verdict.
  2. 2
    The judicial order for a punishment to be imposed on a person convicted of a crime.
  3. 3
    A punishment imposed on a person convicted of a crime.
  4. 4
    A saying, especially from a great person; a maxim, an apophthegm.
  5. 5
    A grammatically complete series of words consisting of a subject and predicate, even if one or the other is implied. In modern writing, when using e.g. the Latin, Greek or Cyrillic alphabets, typically beginning with a capital letter and ending with a full stop or other punctuation.
  6. 6
    A formula with no free variables.
  7. 7
    Any of the set of strings that can be generated by a given formal grammar.
  8. 8
    Sense; meaning; significance.
  9. 9
    One's opinion; manner of thinking.
  10. 10
    A pronounced opinion or judgment on a given question.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The court returned a sentence of guilt in the first charge, but innocence in the second.
  2. A branch that has played a significant part in the history of its territory is under sentence at the end of the summer timetables, so far as its passenger services are concerned.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French sentence, from Latin sententia (“way of thinking, opinion, sentiment”), from sentiēns, present participle of sentiō (“to feel, think”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to feel”).

Synonyms

verdictconviction

This word in other languages

sentencia(Español)jugement(Français)Urteil(Deutsch)sentença(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esntence
  • senetnce
  • senntence
  • sentance
  • sentecne
  • sentencce
  • sentenec
  • sentennce
  • sentnece
  • senttence
  • setnence
  • snetence
  • ssentence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

esntence2senetnce2senntence1sentance1sentecne2sentencce1sentenec2sentennce1
Edit distance from "sentence"

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 "sentence"?
"sentence" is spelled S-E-N-T-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛn.təns/.
What does "sentence" mean?
As a noun, "sentence" means: The decision or judgement of a jury or court; a verdict.
What words are commonly confused with "sentence"?
"sentence" is commonly confused with "sequence", "sentences", "sentenced". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sentence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sentence" is /ˈsɛn.təns/. 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 "sentence"?
Borrowed from Middle French sentence, from Latin sententia (“way of thinking, opinion, sentiment”), from sentiēns, present participle of sentiō (“to feel, think”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to feel”). 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 "sentence", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

academic#2,604accurate#2,606recovery#2,591category#2,615

Similar misspelling depth

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

dedicated13 variantsopposition13 variantsreceiving13 variantsinstance13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list