tradition

/tɹəˈdɪʃ.ən/

//tɹəˈdɪʃ.ən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“tradition” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,032. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,032
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A part of culture that is passed from person to person or generation to generation, possibly differing in detail from family to family, such as the way to celebrate holidays.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tradition · tradition · English

tradition · rank #3,032 · 14 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,032
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tower

Nearest frequency peer: tower (-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 “tradition”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “tradition” 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).

tradition vs transition
80% similar
tradition vs traditional
82% similar
tradition vs traction
78% similar

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

Key facts for tradition
PropertyValue
Headwordtradition
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɹəˈdɪʃ.ən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#3,032
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tradition”

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).traditionlands 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 “tower” (#3,031), “visited” (#3,033), “Stephen” (#3,030). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tradition” is #3,032. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around tradition (IPA /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,032 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for tradition, with forms such as "rtadition", "tardition", and "traddition". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "transition", "traditional", "traction", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tradicioun, from Old French tradicion, from Latin trāditiō, from the verb trādō. Doublet of treason. The correct English form is tradition, spelled T-R-A-D-I-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A part of culture that is passed from person to person or generation to generation, possibly differing in detail from family to family, such as the way to celebrate holidays.
  2. 2
    A commonly held system.
  3. 3
    An established or distinctive style or method
  4. 4
    The act of delivering into the hands of another; delivery.
  5. 5
    The entirety of a text's transmission; all the versions of a work.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. After breakfast, Charles Macdoodle told Lady Mary that it was a tradition in the family that those rumbling carriages on the terrace betokened death.
  2. Yet if the only form of tradition, of handing down, consisted in following the ways of the immediate generation before us in a blind or timid adherence to its successes, "tradition" should positively be discouraged.

Etymology

From Middle English tradicioun, from Old French tradicion, from Latin trāditiō, from the verb trādō. Doublet of treason.

Synonyms

doctrine

This word in other languages

tradición(Español)tradition(Français)Tradition(Deutsch)tradição(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtadition
  • tardition
  • traddition
  • tradiiton
  • tradision
  • traditino
  • traditionn
  • traditoin
  • tradittion
  • tradtiion
  • traidtion
  • trdaition
  • trradition
  • ttradition

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rtadition2tardition2traddition1tradiiton2tradision1traditino2traditionn1traditoin2
Edit distance from "tradition"

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 "tradition"?
"tradition" is spelled T-R-A-D-I-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ən/.
What does "tradition" mean?
As a noun, "tradition" means: A part of culture that is passed from person to person or generation to generation, possibly differing in detail from family to family, such as the way to celebrate holidays.
What words are commonly confused with "tradition"?
"tradition" is commonly confused with "transition", "traditional", "traction". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tradition"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tradition" is /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ən/. 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 "tradition"?
From Middle English tradicioun, from Old French tradicion, from Latin trāditiō, from the verb trādō. Doublet of treason. 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 "tradition", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

celebrate#3,045chocolate#3,047criticism#3,051mountains#3,011

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

challenges14 variantspermission14 variantsformation14 variantsfunctions14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list