agile
/ˈæd͡ʒ.aɪl/
"agile" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“agile” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,839 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #16,839
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having the faculty of quick motion in the limbs; apt or ready to move; loose-jointed.
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 | agile |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈæd͡ʒ.aɪl/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #16,839 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “agile” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for agile is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæd͡ʒ.aɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,839 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for agile, with forms such as "aggile", "agiel", and "agille". 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. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ale", "AGL", "aide", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier agil, borrowed from Latin agilis (“agile, nimble”), from agō (“do, act; move”). See agent. The correct English form is agile, spelled A-G-I-L-E.
Definition
- 1Having the faculty of quick motion in the limbs; apt or ready to move; loose-jointed.
- 2Characterised by quick motion.
- 3Of or relating to agile software development, a technique for iterative and incremental development of software involving collaboration between teams.
Etymology
From earlier agil, borrowed from Latin agilis (“agile, nimble”), from agō (“do, act; move”). See agent.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aggile,agiel,agille,aglie,aigle,gaile
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of agile - 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 “agile”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-G-I-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæd͡ʒ.aɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ale” - see the side-by-side comparison. agile vs ale
- 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.