alter ego
/ˈɔːl.təɹ iːɡəʊ/
"alter-ego" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alter ego” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An individual's alternate personality or persona; another self.
Corpus desk
Index EN-alter-ego · alter ego · English
alter ego · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | alter ego |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɔːl.təɹ iːɡəʊ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “alter ego” in English
Rare enough to double-check
alter ego is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɔːl.təɹ iːɡəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for alter ego in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin alter ego (literally “other me”). The correct English form is alter ego, spelled A-L-T-E-R- -E-G-O.
Definition
- 1An individual's alternate personality or persona; another self.
- 2A very close and intimate friend.
- 3A corporation used by a person to conduct personal business in an attempt to shield himself or herself from personal liability, and which a court may penetrate by "piercing the corporate veil" to impose liability on the person when they commit fraud or injustice.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how alter ego appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Clark Kent's coworkers finally discovered his alter ego, Superman.
[…] a belief in the possibility of a man possessing an alter ego in the form of some animal such as a crocodile or a hippopotamus. It is believed that such a person's life is bound up with that of the animal to such an extent that, whatever affects the one produces a corresponding impression upon the other, and that if one dies the other must speedily do…
Etymology
From Latin alter ego (literally “other me”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.