wince

/wɪns/

//wɪns// noun

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

"wince" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wince” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,866. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,866
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sudden movement or gesture of shrinking away.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wince · wince · English

wince · rank #46,866 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #46,866
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH winemaking

Nearest frequency peer: winemaking (+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 “wince”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “wince” 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).

wince vs wind
60% similar
wince vs wine
80% similar
wince vs wins
60% similar

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

Key facts for wince
PropertyValue
Headwordwince
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/wɪns/
Letters5
Frequency rank#46,866
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wince”

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).wincelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “winemaking” (#46,867), “wiggling” (#46,864), “womanizer” (#46,870). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wince” is #46,866. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around wince (IPA /wɪns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #46,866 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for wince, with forms such as "iwnce", "wicne", and "wincce". 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. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wind", "wine", "wins", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English wyncen, from Anglo-Norman winchir (compare Old French guenchir), from Frankish *wankjan, related to *winkijan (“to flex, bend”). See also German winken. The correct English form is wince, spelled W-I-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sudden movement or gesture of shrinking away.
  2. 2
    A reel used in dyeing, steeping, or washing cloth; a winch. It is placed over the division wall between two wince pits so as to allow the cloth to descend into either compartment at will.

Etymology

From Middle English wyncen, from Anglo-Norman winchir (compare Old French guenchir), from Frankish *wankjan, related to *winkijan (“to flex, bend”). See also German winken.

This word in other languages

Zusammenzucken(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iwnce
  • wicne
  • wincce
  • winec
  • winnce
  • wnice
  • wwince

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

iwnce2wicne2wincce1winec2winnce1wnice2wwince1
Edit distance from "wince"

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 "wince"?
"wince" is spelled W-I-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /wɪns/.
What does "wince" mean?
As a noun, "wince" means: A sudden movement or gesture of shrinking away.
What words are commonly confused with "wince"?
"wince" is commonly confused with "wind", "wine", "wins". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wince"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wince" is /wɪns/. 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 "wince"?
From Middle English wyncen, from Anglo-Norman winchir (compare Old French guenchir), from Frankish *wankjan, related to *winkijan (“to flex, bend”). See also German winken. 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 "wince", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Yulia#46,876washy#46,852unsee#46,837toots#46,823

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Tomes7 variantstenner7 variantsbloat7 variantsBoden7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list