allege

/əˈlɛd͡ʒ/

//əˈlɛd͡ʒ// verb

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

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

The verdict

“allege” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,884. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,884
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To state under oath, to plead.

Corpus desk

Index EN-allege · allege · English

allege · rank #22,884 · 6 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,884
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Alton

Nearest frequency peer: Alton (+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 “allege”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “allege” 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).

allege vs Allen
50% similar
allege vs alley
67% similar
allege vs Allie
50% similar

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

Key facts for allege
PropertyValue
Headwordallege
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈlɛd͡ʒ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#22,884
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “allege”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).allegelands 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 “Alton” (#22,885), “aeroplane” (#22,882), “Andromeda” (#22,886). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “allege” is #22,884. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around allege (IPA /əˈlɛd͡ʒ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #22,884 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for allege, with forms such as "alege", "alelge", and "alleeg". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "Allen", "alley", "Allie", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English aleggen, perhaps from Old French alleguer, or from Anglo-Norman aleger, the form perhaps from Old French esligier (“to acquit”), from Medieval Latin *exlītigāre (“to clear at law”), from Latin ex (“out”) + lītigō (“sue at law”), but the … The correct English form is allege, spelled A-L-L-E-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To state under oath, to plead.
  2. 2
    To cite or quote an author or his work for or against.
  3. 3
    To adduce (something) as a reason, excuse, support etc.
  4. 4
    To make a claim as justification or proof; to make an assertion without proof.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I will further alleage a storie[…]to make us palpably feele his naturall condition.
  2. The agency alleged that my credit history had problems.

Etymology

From Middle English aleggen, perhaps from Old French alleguer, or from Anglo-Norman aleger, the form perhaps from Old French esligier (“to acquit”), from Medieval Latin *exlītigāre (“to clear at law”), from Latin ex (“out”) + lītigō (“sue at law”), but the meaning from Old French alleguer, from Latin allēgāre (“send on a mission, depute; relate, mention, adduce”), from ad (“to”) + lēgō (“send”).

This word in other languages

afirmar(Español)prétendre(Français)behaupten(Deutsch)alegar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alege
  • alelge
  • alleeg
  • allegge
  • allgee
  • lalege

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of allege - 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.

alege1alelge2alleeg2allegge1allgee2lalege2
Edit distance from "allege"

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 "allege"?
"allege" is spelled A-L-L-E-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈlɛd͡ʒ/.
What does "allege" mean?
As a verb, "allege" means: To state under oath, to plead.
What words are commonly confused with "allege"?
"allege" is commonly confused with "Allen", "alley", "Allie". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "allege"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "allege" is /əˈlɛd͡ʒ/. 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 "allege"?
From Middle English aleggen, perhaps from Old French alleguer, or from Anglo-Norman aleger, the form perhaps from Old French esligier (“to acquit”), from Medieval Latin *exlītigāre (“to clear at law”), from Latin ex (“out”) + lītigō (“sue at law”)... 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 "allege", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

bagged#22,894Bangor#22,896Basque#22,898weasel#22,861

Similar misspelling depth

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

zest6 variantsBuffett6 variantsBums6 variantsswag6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list