successor

/səkˈsɛsə/

//səkˈsɛsə// noun

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

"successor" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“successor” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,295. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,295
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person or thing that immediately follows another in holding an office or title.

Corpus desk

Index EN-successor · successor · English

successor · rank #7,295 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,295
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH straw

Nearest frequency peer: straw (-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 “successor”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “successor” 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).

successor vs success
78% similar
successor vs succession
80% similar

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

Key facts for successor
PropertyValue
Headwordsuccessor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/səkˈsɛsə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#7,295
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “successor”

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).successorlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “straw” (#7,294), “Stevens” (#7,293), “triggered” (#7,297). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “successor” is #7,295. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around successor (IPA /səkˈsɛsə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,295 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for successor, with forms such as "scucessor", "ssuccessor", and "succesor". 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, "success", "succession", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman successour, from Latin successor. The correct English form is successor, spelled S-U-C-C-E-S-S-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person or thing that immediately follows another in holding an office or title.
  2. 2
    The next heir in order or succession.
  3. 3
    A person who inherits a title or office.
  4. 4
    The integer, ordinal number or cardinal number immediately following another.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. George W. Bush was successor to Bill Clinton as President of the US.
  2. After Li Tan's death in 1625, Hsu Hsin-su (許心素), leader of the Chang-chou people dwelling in and around the city of Hsia-men (廈門, or Amoy), emerged as his successor.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman successour, from Latin successor.

Synonyms

aftercomerheirsucceedersuccessorsuccessour

Antonyms

predecessorpredecessor

This word in other languages

sucesor(Español)successeur(Français)Nachfolger(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • scucessor
  • ssuccessor
  • succesor
  • succesosr
  • successorr
  • successro
  • succsesor
  • sucecssor
  • sucessor
  • usccessor

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

scucessor2ssuccessor1succesor1succesosr2successorr1successro2succsesor2sucecssor2
Edit distance from "successor"

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 "successor"?
"successor" is spelled S-U-C-C-E-S-S-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /səkˈsɛsə/.
What does "successor" mean?
As a noun, "successor" means: A person or thing that immediately follows another in holding an office or title.
What words are commonly confused with "successor"?
"successor" is commonly confused with "success", "succession". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "successor"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "successor" is /səkˈsɛsə/. 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 "successor"?
From Anglo-Norman successour, from Latin successor. 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 "successor", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

triggered#7,297uncertain#7,299ancestors#7,310resistant#7,277

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Abraham10 variantssailing10 variantsarchive10 variantspropose10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list