afterglow

Name: afterglow, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“afterglow” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #44,600. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#44,600
frequency rank, English: 3,931
“A” headwords: 14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The glow seen in the sky after sunset.

Corpus desk

Index EN-afterglow · afterglow · English

afterglow · rank #44,600 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #44,600
LEN-LONG 9 letters
VOW-3 3 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 14 variants
BOOK-MID 3,931
PHOTO-FINISH aghast

Nearest frequency peer: aghast (+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.

aeon

55,403
afterglow

55,401
aghast

55,400
agitate

55,399
AGS

55,398
aight

55,397

What this shows “afterglow” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Key facts for afterglow
Property	Value
Headword	afterglow
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#44,600
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “afterglow”

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

#44,600

#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 “aghast” (#44,601), “aeon” (#44,598), “agitate” (#44,602). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “afterglow” is #44,600. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around afterglow, anoun. Corpus frequency is #44,600 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for afterglow, with forms such as "afetrglow", "affterglow", and "aftegrlow". 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. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From after- + glow. The correct English form is afterglow, spelled A-F-T-E-R-G-L-O-W.

Definition

1
The glow seen in the sky after sunset.
2
The light emitted by an incandescent object while cooling.
3
The light emitted by a phosphor after excitation.
4
The mildly euphoric feeling experienced after a pleasurable experience, especially after an orgasm or drug-induced high.
5
An afterparty.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

That the sunset in Egypt is gorgeous, every body knows; but I, for one, was not aware that there is a renewal of beauty, some time after the sun has departed and left all grey. […] everything begins to brighten again in twenty minutes;—the hills are again purple or golden,—the sands orange,—the palms verdant,—the moonlight on the water, a pale green rippl…
Let my thoughts come to you, when I am gone, like the afterglow of sunset at the margin of starry silence.

Etymology

From after- + glow.

Synonyms

afterparty

Antonyms

foreglow hangoverpostcoital tristesse

This word in other languages

arrebol(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

afetrglow
affterglow
aftegrlow
aftergglow
aftergllow
aftergloww
afterglwo
aftergolw
afterlgow
afterrglow
aftreglow
aftterglow
atferglow
faterglow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "afterglow"

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 "afterglow"?

"afterglow" is spelled A-F-T-E-R-G-L-O-W.

What does "afterglow" mean?

As a noun, "afterglow" means: The glow seen in the sky after sunset.

What are common misspellings of "afterglow"?

Common misspellings include "afetrglow", "affterglow", "aftegrlow", "aftergglow", "aftergllow". The correct spelling is "afterglow".

What is the origin of the word "afterglow"?

From after- + glow. 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 "afterglow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Andalusia#44,611 automaker#44,625 Whitworth#44,574 waterside#44,566

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

wheelhouse14 variants weightless14 variants vulgarity14 variants triumphal14 variants