sustaining

verb

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

"sustaining" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sustaining” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,033. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,033
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of sustain

Corpus desk

Index EN-sustaining · sustaining · English

sustaining · rank #14,033 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,033
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH tavern

Nearest frequency peer: tavern (+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 “sustaining”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sustaining” 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
Key facts for sustaining
PropertyValue
Headwordsustaining
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Frequency rank#14,033
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sustaining”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).sustaininglands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “tavern” (#14,034), “summon” (#14,031), “teasing” (#14,035). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sustaining” is #14,033. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around sustaining, averb. Corpus frequency is #14,033 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of sustain".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for sustaining, with forms such as "ssustaining", "ssutaining", and "susatining". 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. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is sustaining, spelled S-U-S-T-A-I-N-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of sustain

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse, but it may have been a momentary one, while in the case of monk and crusader there must have been a sustaining purpose, and possibly a great abnegation, a leaving of lands and possessions.”

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ssustaining
  • ssutaining
  • susatining
  • susstaining
  • sustaiinng
  • sustainign
  • sustainingg
  • sustaininng
  • sustainnig
  • sustainning
  • sustaniing
  • sustianing
  • susttaining
  • sutsaining
  • usstaining

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ssustaining1ssutaining2susatining2susstaining1sustaiinng2sustainign2sustainingg1sustaininng1
Edit distance from "sustaining"

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 "sustaining"?
"sustaining" is spelled S-U-S-T-A-I-N-I-N-G.
What does "sustaining" mean?
As a verb, "sustaining" means: present participle and gerund of sustain
What are common misspellings of "sustaining"?
Common misspellings include "ssustaining", "ssutaining", "susatining", "susstaining", "sustaiinng". The correct spelling is "sustaining".
What language does "sustaining" come from?
"sustaining" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "sustaining", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

turbulence#14,040waterproof#14,049sentiments#14,016administer#14,059

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

regulating15 variantsprevailing15 variantsovercoming15 variantslighthouse15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list