warning

/ˈwɔɹnɪŋ/

//ˈwɔɹnɪŋ// verb

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

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

The verdict

“warning” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,564. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,564
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-warning · warning · English

warning · rank #2,564 · 11 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,564
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH universe

Nearest frequency peer: universe (-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 “warning”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “warning” 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).

warning vs wring
71% similar
warning vs waving
71% similar
warning vs wiring
71% similar

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

Key facts for warning
PropertyValue
Headwordwarning
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈwɔɹnɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#2,564
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “warning”

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).warninglands 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 “universe” (#2,563), “wars” (#2,565), “typical” (#2,562). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “warning” is #2,564. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around warning (IPA /ˈwɔɹnɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,564 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle of warn".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for warning, with forms such as "awrning", "wanring", and "warinng". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wring", "waving", "wiring", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is warning, spelled W-A-R-N-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle of warn

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness,[…]. It was with a palpable relief that he heard the first warning notes of the figure.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • awrning
  • wanring
  • warinng
  • warnign
  • warningg
  • warninng
  • warnnig
  • warnning
  • warrning
  • wraning
  • wwarning

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

awrning2wanring2warinng2warnign2warningg1warninng1warnnig2warnning1
Edit distance from "warning"

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 "warning"?
"warning" is spelled W-A-R-N-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɔɹnɪŋ/.
What does "warning" mean?
As a verb, "warning" means: present participle of warn
What words are commonly confused with "warning"?
"warning" is commonly confused with "wring", "waving", "wiring". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "warning"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "warning" is /ˈwɔɹnɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "warning" come from?
"warning" 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 "warning", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

typical#2,562singing#2,559decades#2,572drawing#2,575

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

universe11 variantsrealized11 variantsJackson11 variantsmatches11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list