suffocation
"suffocation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“suffocation” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,239. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #37,239
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Asphyxia—a condition in which an extreme decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the body accompanied by an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide leads to loss of consciousness or death.
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 | suffocation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #37,239 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “suffocation” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 15 spelling variants around suffocation, anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,239 among 54,294 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for suffocation, with forms such as "sfufocation", "ssuffocation", and "suffcoation". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "suffocating", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English suffocation, suffocacioun, from Middle French suffocation, from Latin suffocatio. The correct English form is suffocation, spelled S-U-F-F-O-C-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Asphyxia—a condition in which an extreme decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the body accompanied by an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide leads to loss of consciousness or death.
- 2A particular act of death or killing by means of asphyxia.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English suffocation, suffocacioun, from Middle French suffocation, from Latin suffocatio.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- sfufocation
- ssuffocation
- suffcoation
- suffoaction
- suffocaiton
- suffocasion
- suffocatino
- suffocationn
- suffocatoin
- suffocattion
- suffoccation
- suffoctaion
- sufocation
- sufofcation
- usffocation
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of suffocation - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "suffocation"?
What does "suffocation" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "suffocation"?
What is the origin of the word "suffocation"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “suffocation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-F-F-O-C-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “suffocating” - see the side-by-side comparison. suffocation vs suffocating
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
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.