sufficiency

noun

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

The verdict

“sufficiency” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,039 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#28,039
frequency rank, English
11
letters
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The quality or condition of being sufficient.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sufficiency vs sufficient
82% similar
sufficiency vs sufficiently
83% similar

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

Key facts for sufficiency
PropertyValue
Headwordsufficiency
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Frequency rank#28,039
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sufficiency” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). sufficiency lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for sufficiency is 11 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #28,039 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 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 sufficiency, with forms such as "sfuficiency", "ssufficiency", and "suffciiency". 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, "sufficient", "sufficiently", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is sufficiency, spelled S-U-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-C-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality or condition of being sufficient.
  2. 2
    An adequate amount.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: sfuficiency,ssufficiency,suffciiency,sufficciency,sufficeincy,sufficiecny,sufficienccy,sufficiencyy,sufficienncy,sufficienyc,sufficinecy,suffiicency,suficiency,sufifciency,usfficiency

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

sfuficiency2ssufficiency1suffciiency2sufficciency1sufficeincy2sufficiecny2sufficienccy1sufficiencyy1
Edit distance from "sufficiency"

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 "sufficiency"?
"sufficiency" is spelled S-U-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-C-Y.
What does "sufficiency" mean?
As a noun, "sufficiency" means: The quality or condition of being sufficient.
What words are commonly confused with "sufficiency"?
"sufficiency" is commonly confused with "sufficient", "sufficiently". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "sufficiency" come from?
"sufficiency" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “sufficiency”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-U-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-C-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “sufficient” - see the side-by-side comparison. sufficiency vs sufficient
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list