amaranth
/ˈæməɹænθ/
"amaranth" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“amaranth” is uncommon English (frequency #60,615 among 35,202 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #60,615
- frequency rank, English
- 35,202
- “A” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An imaginary flower that does not wither.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | amaranth |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈæməɹænθ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #60,615 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “amaranth” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
amaranth is uncommon English at frequency #60,615 among 35,202 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈæməɹænθ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
amaranth doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French amarante, or directly from its etymon Latin amarantus (the word ending influenced by plant names derived from Ancient Greek ἄνθος (ánthos, “a bloom, blossom, flower”)), from Ancient Greek ἀμάραντος (amárantos, “eternal, undying, unfadin… The correct English form is amaranth, spelled A-M-A-R-A-N-T-H.
Definition
- 1An imaginary flower that does not wither.
- 2Any of various herbs of the genus Amaranthus.
- 3The characteristic purplish-red colour of the flowers or leaves of these plants.
- 4A red to purple azo dye used as a biological stain, and in some countries in cosmetics and as a food colouring. See Amaranth (dye).
- 5The seed of these plants, used as a cereal.
Etymology
Borrowed from French amarante, or directly from its etymon Latin amarantus (the word ending influenced by plant names derived from Ancient Greek ἄνθος (ánthos, “a bloom, blossom, flower”)), from Ancient Greek ἀμάραντος (amárantos, “eternal, undying, unfading, unwilting; amaranth; everlasting flower”) (modern Greek αμάραντος (amárantos)), from ᾰ̓- (ă-, the alpha privativum, a prefix forming words having a sense opposite to the word or stem to which it is attached) + μαραίνω (maraínō, “to shrivel, wither”) + -τος (-tos, suffix forming adjectives).
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); 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
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Using “amaranth”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-M-A-R-A-N-T-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæməɹænθ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.