separation
/ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
"separation" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“separation” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,838 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #5,838
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of disuniting two or more things, or the condition of being separated.
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 | separation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #5,838 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “separation” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for separation is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,838 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for separation, with forms such as "esparation", "seapration", and "sepaartion". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "separator", "separatist", "separatism", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested in the 15th Century C.E.; from Middle English separacioun, from Old French separacion, from Latin separatio, separationem. Morphologically separate + -ion. The correct English form is separation, spelled S-E-P-A-R-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of disuniting two or more things, or the condition of being separated.
- 2The act or condition of two or more people being separated from one another.
- 3The act or condition of a married couple living in separate homes while remaining legally married.
- 4The act or condition of a married couple living in separate homes while remaining legally married.
- 5The place at which a division occurs.
- 6An interval, gap or space that separates things or people.
- 7An object that separates two spaces.
- 8Departure from active duty, while not necessarily leaving the service entirely.
Etymology
Attested in the 15th Century C.E.; from Middle English separacioun, from Old French separacion, from Latin separatio, separationem. Morphologically separate + -ion.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: esparation,seapration,sepaartion,separaiton,separasion,separatino,separationn,separatoin,separattion,separration,separtaion,sepparation,sepraation,spearation,sseparation
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of separation - 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 "separation"?
What does "separation" mean?
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Using “separation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-E-P-A-R-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “separator” - see the side-by-side comparison. separation vs separator
- 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.