treason

/ˈtɹiː.zən/

//ˈtɹiː.zən// noun

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

"treason" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“treason” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,118. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,118
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The crime of betraying one’s own country.

Corpus desk

Index EN-treason · treason · English

treason · rank #9,118 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,118
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH typing

Nearest frequency peer: typing (+2 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 “treason”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “treason” 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).

treason vs Trenton
57% similar

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

Key facts for treason
PropertyValue
Headwordtreason
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɹiː.zən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#9,118
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “treason”

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).treasonlands 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 “typing” (#9,120), “tolerate” (#9,115), “urine” (#9,121). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “treason” is #9,118. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around treason (IPA /ˈtɹiː.zən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,118 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for treason, with forms such as "rteason", "terason", and "traeson". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Trenton", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tresoun, treison, from Anglo-Norman treson, from Old French traïson (“treason”), from trair, or from Latin trāditiō (“a giving up, handing over, surrender, delivery, tradition”), from trādō (“give up, hand over, deliver over, betray”, ve… The correct English form is treason, spelled T-R-E-A-S-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The crime of betraying one’s own country.
  2. 2
    An act of treachery, betrayal of trust or confidence.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Treaſon doth never [pro]ſper: what's the reaſon? / For yf yt [pro]ſper none dare call yt treaſon
  2. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unleſs on the Testimony of two Witneſses to the same overt Act, or on Confeſsion in open Court.

Etymology

From Middle English tresoun, treison, from Anglo-Norman treson, from Old French traïson (“treason”), from trair, or from Latin trāditiō (“a giving up, handing over, surrender, delivery, tradition”), from trādō (“give up, hand over, deliver over, betray”, verb), from trāns- (“over, across”) + dō (“give”). Doublet of tradition.

This word in other languages

traición(Español)trahison(Français)Verrat(Deutsch)traição(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rteason
  • terason
  • traeson
  • treaosn
  • treasno
  • treasonn
  • treasson
  • tresaon
  • trreason
  • ttreason

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rteason2terason2traeson2treaosn2treasno2treasonn1treasson1tresaon2
Edit distance from "treason"

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 "treason"?
"treason" is spelled T-R-E-A-S-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɹiː.zən/.
What does "treason" mean?
As a noun, "treason" means: The crime of betraying one’s own country.
What words are commonly confused with "treason"?
"treason" is commonly confused with "Trenton". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "treason"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "treason" is /ˈtɹiː.zən/. 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 "treason"?
From Middle English tresoun, treison, from Anglo-Norman treson, from Old French traïson (“treason”), from trair, or from Latin trāditiō (“a giving up, handing over, surrender, delivery, tradition”), from trādō (“give up, hand over, deliver over, b... 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 "treason", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

testify#9,114vanilla#9,122Vermont#9,123smashed#9,100

Similar misspelling depth

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

typing10 variantssupplier10 variantsstripped10 variantsborough10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list