SpellingIQ

How to spell precedent

precedent

Not precedant.

The trap

-ant or -ent

The word precedent ends -ent, and the misspelling precedant writes the ending as -ant. Precede, precedent and precedence keep the E across the family, so one can settle the others.

-ant and -ent are the same sound when the syllable is unstressed. Which one a word takes is usually learned with the word, and its -ance or -ence relative keeps the same vowel (confident, confidence).

precede + ent · precede drops its e before -ent

What it means

noun. An earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances.

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SpellingIQ is a skill rating for spelling ability, not a clinical or psychometric IQ measure. American English is canonical; common variants are accepted.