alumnus

/əˈlʌmnəs/

//əˈlʌmnəs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“alumnus” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,270. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,270
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 male pupil or student.

Corpus desk

Index EN-alumnus · alumnus · English

alumnus · rank #32,270 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #32,270
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH allele

Nearest frequency peer: allele (-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 “alumnus”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “alumnus” 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).

alumnus vs alumni
71% similar
alumnus vs aluminum
75% similar

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

Key facts for alumnus
PropertyValue
Headwordalumnus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈlʌmnəs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#32,270
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “alumnus”

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).alumnuslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “allele” (#32,269), “Alford” (#32,268), “admirably” (#32,267). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “alumnus” is #32,270. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around alumnus (IPA /əˈlʌmnəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #32,270 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for alumnus, with forms such as "allumnus", "almunus", and "alummnus". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "alumni", "aluminum", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin alumnus (“foster child, nourished one”). The correct English form is alumnus, spelled A-L-U-M-N-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male pupil or student.
  2. 2
    A male graduate.
  3. 3
    A student of any gender.
  4. 4
    A graduate of any gender.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin alumnus (“foster child, nourished one”).

Synonyms

alumalumnalumnialumnx

This word in other languages

alumno(Español)étudiant(Français)Student(Deutsch)aluno(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • allumnus
  • almunus
  • alummnus
  • alumnnus
  • alumnsu
  • alumnuss
  • alumuns
  • alunmus
  • aulmnus
  • laumnus

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alumnus - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

allumnus1almunus2alummnus1alumnnus1alumnsu2alumnuss1alumuns2alunmus2
Edit distance from "alumnus"

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 "alumnus"?
"alumnus" is spelled A-L-U-M-N-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈlʌmnəs/.
What does "alumnus" mean?
As a noun, "alumnus" means: A male pupil or student.
What words are commonly confused with "alumnus"?
"alumnus" is commonly confused with "alumni", "aluminum". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "alumnus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alumnus" is /əˈlʌmnəs/. 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 "alumnus"?
Learned borrowing from Latin alumnus (“foster child, nourished one”). 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 "alumnus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

asexual#32,283Yonkers#32,256balding#32,288workmen#32,252

Similar misspelling depth

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

automata10 variantswoefully10 variantswiseman10 variantsBernice10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list