alimony

/ˈæl.ɪ.mə.ni/

//ˈæl.ɪ.mə.ni// noun

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

"alimony" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“alimony” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,653. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,653
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A court-mandated allowance made to a former spouse by a divorced or legally separated person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-alimony · alimony · English

alimony · rank #25,653 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,653
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ahl

Nearest frequency peer: Ahl (-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 “alimony”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “alimony” 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).

alimony vs Alison
57% similar
alimony vs almond
71% similar

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

Key facts for alimony
PropertyValue
Headwordalimony
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæl.ɪ.mə.ni/
Letters7
Frequency rank#25,653
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “alimony”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Ahl” (#25,652), “Allegheny” (#25,654), “aeronautical” (#25,651). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “alimony” is #25,653. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around alimony (IPA /ˈæl.ɪ.mə.ni/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,653 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for alimony, with forms such as "ailmony", "alimmony", and "alimnoy". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Alison", "almond", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Known since the 17th century, from Latin alimōnia (“food, support, nourishment, sustenance”) (English aliment, as in alimentary), itself from alō (“to nourish”) + -mōnia (“action, state, condition”). The correct English form is alimony, spelled A-L-I-M-O-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A court-mandated allowance made to a former spouse by a divorced or legally separated person.
  2. 2
    Nourishment, sustenance, especially for one's spirit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In that case he has to pay her alimony even if there are no children, and if she is one of those smart ones, interested in nothing but a good living and independence, she is set for life.
  2. Who won, huh? Nobody. Used to be sex was the only free thing, No longer. Alimony… palimony… it's all financial. Love is an illusion.

Etymology

Known since the 17th century, from Latin alimōnia (“food, support, nourishment, sustenance”) (English aliment, as in alimentary), itself from alō (“to nourish”) + -mōnia (“action, state, condition”).

This word in other languages

alimentos(Español)pension alimentaire(Français)Unterhalt(Deutsch)pensão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ailmony
  • alimmony
  • alimnoy
  • alimonny
  • alimonyy
  • alimoyn
  • aliomny
  • allimony
  • almiony
  • laimony

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alimony - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ailmony2alimmony1alimnoy2alimonny1alimonyy1alimoyn2aliomny2allimony1
Edit distance from "alimony"

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 "alimony"?
"alimony" is spelled A-L-I-M-O-N-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæl.ɪ.mə.ni/.
What does "alimony" mean?
As a noun, "alimony" means: A court-mandated allowance made to a former spouse by a divorced or legally separated person.
What words are commonly confused with "alimony"?
"alimony" is commonly confused with "Alison", "almond". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "alimony"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alimony" is /ˈæl.ɪ.mə.ni/. 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 "alimony"?
Known since the 17th century, from Latin alimōnia (“food, support, nourishment, sustenance”) (English aliment, as in alimentary), itself from alō (“to nourish”) + -mōnia (“action, state, condition”). 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 "alimony", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Zionism#25,645Asiatic#25,666warlord#25,640avenger#25,673

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

whence10 variantsbaseless10 variantsboyhood10 variantstactile10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list