adware

/ˈædˌwɛə/

//ˈædˌwɛə// noun

"adware" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“adware” is uncommon English (frequency #77,383 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,383
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A software application that includes advertisements, which are displayed while the software is running. Developers use adware as a source of income and to keep the costs of the software down (usual...

Corpus desk

Index EN-adware · adware · English

adware · rank #77,383 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #77,383
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH adoptable

Nearest frequency peer: adoptable (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “adware”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “adware” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for adware
PropertyValue
Headwordadware
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈædˌwɛə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#77,383
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “adware” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).adwarefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “adoptable” (#77,382), “adamantium” (#77,381), “aerobatic” (#77,385). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adware” is #77,383. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

adware is uncommon English at frequency #77,383 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈædˌwɛə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A software application that includes advertisements, which are displayed while the software is running. Developers use adware as a source of income and to keep the costs of the software down (usual...".

adware has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From ad + -ware. The correct English form is adware, spelled A-D-W-A-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A software application that includes advertisements, which are displayed while the software is running. Developers use adware as a source of income and to keep the costs of the software down (usually making it free). Some adware programs can include spyware.

Etymology

From ad + -ware.

This word in other languages

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 "adware"?
"adware" is spelled A-D-W-A-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈædˌwɛə/.
What does "adware" mean?
As a noun, "adware" means: A software application that includes advertisements, which are displayed while the software is running. Developers use adware as a source of income and to keep the costs of the software down (usual...
How do you pronounce "adware"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adware" is /ˈædˌwɛə/. 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 "adware"?
From ad + -ware. 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 "adware", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list