abnormal
/ˌæbˈnɔː.məl/
"abnormal" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“abnormal” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,973 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #10,973
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not conforming to rule or system; deviating from the usual or normal type.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | abnormal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌæbˈnɔː.məl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #10,973 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “abnormal” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for abnormal is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌæbˈnɔː.məl/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,973 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for abnormal, with forms such as "abbnormal", "abnnormal", and "abnomral". 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, "abnormally", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From ab- + normal. First attested in 1835, replacing the earlier anormal and even earlier abnormous, from Latin abnormis (“departing from normal”), from either ab- (“away from”) + norma (“rule, norm”), or Ancient Greek ἀνώμαλος (anṓmalos). The correct English form is abnormal, spelled A-B-N-O-R-M-A-L.
Definition
- 1Not conforming to rule or system; deviating from the usual or normal type.
- 2Of or pertaining to that which is irregular, in particular, behaviour that deviates from norms of social propriety or accepted standards of mental health.
Etymology
From ab- + normal. First attested in 1835, replacing the earlier anormal and even earlier abnormous, from Latin abnormis (“departing from normal”), from either ab- (“away from”) + norma (“rule, norm”), or Ancient Greek ἀνώμαλος (anṓmalos).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: abbnormal,abnnormal,abnomral,abnoraml,abnormall,abnormla,abnormmal,abnorrmal,abnromal,abonrmal,anbormal,banormal
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abnormal - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “abnormal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-B-N-O-R-M-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌæbˈnɔː.məl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “abnormally” - see the side-by-side comparison. abnormal vs abnormally
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.