allowed

/əˈlaʊd/

//əˈlaʊd// verb

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

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

The verdict

“allowed” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #985. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#985
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of allow

Corpus desk

Index EN-allowed · allowed · English

allowed · rank #985 · 8 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #985
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH wrote

Nearest frequency peer: wrote (-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 “allowed”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “allowed” 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).

allowed vs allows
71% similar
allowed vs avowed
71% similar
allowed vs alluded
71% similar

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

Key facts for allowed
PropertyValue
Headwordallowed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈlaʊd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#985
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “allowed”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “wrote” (#984), “boys” (#986), “we've” (#983). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “allowed” is #985. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around allowed (IPA /əˈlaʊd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #985 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of allow".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for allowed, with forms such as "alloewd", "allowde", and "allowedd". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "allows", "avowed", "alluded", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is allowed, spelled A-L-L-O-W-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of allow

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alloewd
  • allowde
  • allowedd
  • allowwed
  • allwoed
  • alolwed
  • alowed
  • lalowed

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

alloewd2allowde2allowedd1allowwed1allwoed2alolwed2alowed1lalowed2
Edit distance from "allowed"

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 "allowed"?
"allowed" is spelled A-L-L-O-W-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈlaʊd/.
What does "allowed" mean?
As a verb, "allowed" means: simple past and past participle of allow
What words are commonly confused with "allowed"?
"allowed" is commonly confused with "allows", "avowed", "alluded". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "allowed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "allowed" is /əˈlaʊd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "allowed" come from?
"allowed" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "allowed", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

culture#987married#994officer#995percent#974

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

seeing8 variantsGeorge8 variantstruth8 variantstable8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list