significant

/sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt/

//sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt// adj

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

"significant" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“significant” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,129. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,129
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Signifying something; carrying meaning.

Corpus desk

Index EN-significant · significant · English

significant · rank #1,129 · 17 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,129
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sell

Nearest frequency peer: sell (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “significant”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “significant” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

significant vs significantly
85% similar
significant vs significance
83% similar

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

Key facts for significant
PropertyValue
Headwordsignificant
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt/
Letters11
Frequency rank#1,129
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “significant” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).significantlands 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 “sell” (#1,128), “studies” (#1,130), “quick” (#1,127). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around significant (IPA /sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,129 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for significant, with forms such as "isgnificant", "sginificant", and "siggnificant". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "significantly", "significance", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin significans, present participle of significare, from signum (“sign”) + ficare (“do, make”), variant of facere. The correct English form is significant, spelled S-I-G-N-I-F-I-C-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Signifying something; carrying meaning.
  2. 2
    Having a noticeable or major effect.
  3. 3
    Reasonably large in number or amount.
  4. 4
    Having a covert or hidden meaning.
  5. 5
    Having a low probability of occurring by chance (for example, having high correlation and thus likely to be related).
  6. 6
    Of a digit or figure, see significant figure.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a significant word or sound
  2. a significant look

Etymology

From Latin significans, present participle of significare, from signum (“sign”) + ficare (“do, make”), variant of facere.

Synonyms

important

Antonyms

insignificantignorablenegligibleslight

This word in other languages

significativo(Español)significatif(Français)signifikant(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • isgnificant
  • sginificant
  • siggnificant
  • siginficant
  • signfiicant
  • signifciant
  • signifficant
  • signifiacnt
  • significannt
  • significantt
  • significatn
  • significcant
  • significnat
  • signiifcant
  • signnificant
  • singificant
  • ssignificant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of significant - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

isgnificant2sginificant2siggnificant1siginficant2signfiicant2signifciant2signifficant1signifiacnt2
Edit distance from "significant"

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 "significant"?
"significant" is spelled S-I-G-N-I-F-I-C-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt/.
What does "significant" mean?
As an adjective, "significant" means: Signifying something; carrying meaning.
What words are commonly confused with "significant"?
"significant" is commonly confused with "significantly", "significance". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "significant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "significant" is /sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt/. 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 "significant"?
From Latin significans, present participle of significare, from signum (“sign”) + ficare (“do, make”), variant of facere. 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 "significant", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

immediately#1,121interesting#1,083opportunity#1,201association#1,041

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

independent17 variantscompetition17 variantsestablished17 variantsenvironment17 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "significant". Here's where to go from here.

  • "significant" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "significantly". View pair
  • 17 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,129 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list