amygdala

/əˈmɪɡ.də.lə/

//əˈmɪɡ.də.lə// noun

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

"amygdala" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“amygdala” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,183. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,183
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Each one of the two regions of the brain, located as a pair in the medial temporal lobe, believed to play a key role in processing emotions, such as fear and pleasure, in both animals and humans.

Corpus desk

Index EN-amygdala · amygdala · English

amygdala · rank #35,183 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,183
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH amphitheatre

Nearest frequency peer: amphitheatre (-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 “amygdala”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “amygdala” 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
Key facts for amygdala
PropertyValue
Headwordamygdala
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈmɪɡ.də.lə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#35,183
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “amygdala”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).amygdalalands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “amphitheatre” (#35,182), “angler” (#35,184), “amiable” (#35,181). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “amygdala” is #35,183. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around amygdala (IPA /əˈmɪɡ.də.lə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,183 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Each one of the two regions of the brain, located as a pair in the medial temporal lobe, believed to play a key role in processing emotions, such as fear and pleasure, in both animals and humans.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for amygdala, with forms such as "amgydala", "ammygdala", and "amydgala". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē)bor. ▲ Arabic لَوْز (lawz)sl. Medieval Latin amygdalalbor. English amygdala Learned borrowing from Latin amygdala (“almond, amygdala”), from Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē, “almond”), named as such due to it… The correct English form is amygdala, spelled A-M-Y-G-D-A-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Each one of the two regions of the brain, located as a pair in the medial temporal lobe, believed to play a key role in processing emotions, such as fear and pleasure, in both animals and humans.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There is experimental evidence showing that cortisol restrains the intensity and duration of the emergency reaction to stress, and catecholamines have been shown to enhance emotional memory in the amygdala (see subsection on "Noradrenaline"). Thus, individuals lacking cortisol would overstore traumatic memories .
  2. Cognitive scientists distinguish between normal risk-assessment decisions, which activate the reward-prediction regions of the brain, and decisions made amid extreme uncertainty, which generate activity in the amygdala.

Etymology

Etymology tree Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē)bor. ▲ Arabic لَوْز (lawz)sl. Medieval Latin amygdalalbor. English amygdala Learned borrowing from Latin amygdala (“almond, amygdala”), from Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē, “almond”), named as such due to its shape. Doublet of almond, amygdale, and mandorla.

This word in other languages

amígdala(Español)amygdale cérébrale(Français)Amygdala(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amgydala
  • ammygdala
  • amydgala
  • amygadla
  • amygdaal
  • amygdalla
  • amygddala
  • amygdlaa
  • amyggdala
  • amyygdala
  • aymgdala
  • maygdala

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

amgydala2ammygdala1amydgala2amygadla2amygdaal2amygdalla1amygddala1amygdlaa2
Edit distance from "amygdala"

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 "amygdala"?
"amygdala" is spelled A-M-Y-G-D-A-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈmɪɡ.də.lə/.
What does "amygdala" mean?
As a noun, "amygdala" means: Each one of the two regions of the brain, located as a pair in the medial temporal lobe, believed to play a key role in processing emotions, such as fear and pleasure, in both animals and humans.
What are common misspellings of "amygdala"?
Common misspellings include "amgydala", "ammygdala", "amydgala", "amygadla", "amygdaal". The correct spelling is "amygdala".
How do you pronounce "amygdala"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "amygdala" is /əˈmɪɡ.də.lə/. 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 "amygdala"?
Etymology tree Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē)bor. ▲ Arabic لَوْز (lawz)sl. Medieval Latin amygdalalbor. English amygdala Learned borrowing from Latin amygdala (“almond, amygdala”), from Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē, “almond”), named as such... 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 "amygdala", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Alphonse#35,179workbook#35,161waveform#35,157collider#35,224

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Allentown12 variantsbilliards12 variantsvaudeville12 variantsuntested12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list