afoul

/əˈfaʊl/

//əˈfaʊl// adv

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

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

The verdict

“afoul” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,192. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,192
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a state of collision or entanglement.

Corpus desk

Index EN-afoul · afoul · English

afoul · rank #45,192 · 6 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #45,192
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH affix

Nearest frequency peer: affix (-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 “afoul”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “afoul” 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).

afoul vs AOL
0% similar
afoul vs AWOL
0% similar
afoul vs awful
60% similar

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

Key facts for afoul
PropertyValue
Headwordafoul
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/əˈfaʊl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#45,192
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “afoul”

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).afoullands 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 “affix” (#45,191), “Ahmadinejad” (#45,193), “aerials” (#45,190). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “afoul” is #45,192. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around afoul (IPA /əˈfaʊl/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #45,192 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for afoul, with forms such as "affoul", "afolu", and "afoull". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "AOL", "AWOL", "awful", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a- + foul. The correct English form is afoul, spelled A-F-O-U-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a state of collision or entanglement.
  2. 2
    In a state of entanglement or conflict (with).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The ships’ lines and sails were all afoul.
  2. After paying out chain, we swung clear, but our anchors were no doubt afoul of hers.

Etymology

From a- + foul.

This word in other languages

torcerse(Español)de encontro a(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • affoul
  • afolu
  • afoull
  • afuol
  • aoful
  • faoul

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of afoul - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

affoul1afolu2afoull1afuol2aoful2faoul2
Edit distance from "afoul"

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 "afoul"?
"afoul" is spelled A-F-O-U-L. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈfaʊl/.
What does "afoul" mean?
As an adverb, "afoul" means: In a state of collision or entanglement.
What words are commonly confused with "afoul"?
"afoul" is commonly confused with "AOL", "AWOL", "awful". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "afoul"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "afoul" is /əˈfaʊl/. 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 "afoul"?
From a- + foul. 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 "afoul", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

affix#45,191addon#45,188Amara#45,200Beebe#45,225

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

tics6 variantscoped6 variantsSallie6 variantsSadr6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list