angel

/ˈeɪn.d͡ʒl̩/

//ˈeɪn.d͡ʒl̩// noun

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

"angel" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“angel” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,277. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,277
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An incorporeal and holy or semidivine messenger from a deity or other divine entity, traditionally depicted as a youthful, winged figure in flowing robes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-angel · angel · English

angel · rank #3,277 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,277
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH alongside

Nearest frequency peer: alongside (-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 “angel”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “angel” 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).

angel vs Anne
40% similar
angel vs ante
60% similar
angel vs axel
60% similar

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

Key facts for angel
PropertyValue
Headwordangel
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈeɪn.d͡ʒl̩/
Letters5
Frequency rank#3,277
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “angel”

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).angellands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “alongside” (#3,276), “anxiety” (#3,278), “Alan” (#3,275). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “angel” is #3,277. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around angel (IPA /ˈeɪn.d͡ʒl̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,277 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for angel, with forms such as "agnel", "anegl", and "anggel". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Anne", "ante", "axel", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Two Baroque angels from southern Germany, from the mid-18th century From Middle English aungel, angel, from Old English anġel, either a modification of enġel after its etymon Latin angelus (through the intermediate of Proto-West Germanic *angil) or a reborr… The correct English form is angel, spelled A-N-G-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    An incorporeal and holy or semidivine messenger from a deity or other divine entity, traditionally depicted as a youthful, winged figure in flowing robes.
  2. 2
    An incorporeal and holy or semidivine messenger from a deity or other divine entity, traditionally depicted as a youthful, winged figure in flowing robes.
  3. 3
    A person having qualities traditionally attributed to angels.
  4. 4
    A person having qualities traditionally attributed to angels.
  5. 5
    A person having qualities traditionally attributed to angels.
  6. 6
    Attendant spirit; genius; demon.
  7. 7
    An official (a bishop, or sometimes a minister) who heads a Christian church, especially a Catholic Apostolic Church.
  8. 8
    An English gold coin, bearing the figure of the archangel Michael, circulated between the 15th and 17th centuries, and varying in value from six shillings and eightpence to ten shillings.
  9. 9
    An altitude, measured in thousands of feet.
  10. 10
    An unidentified flying object detected by air traffic control radar.
  11. 11
    someone that funds
  12. 12
    someone that funds

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The dear good angel of the Spring, / The nightingale.
  2. There seemed to be girls sitting on top of them, or maybe they were meant to be angels. Angels are usually represented as wearing more than that, though.

Etymology

Two Baroque angels from southern Germany, from the mid-18th century From Middle English aungel, angel, from Old English anġel, either a modification of enġel after its etymon Latin angelus (through the intermediate of Proto-West Germanic *angil) or a reborrowing from the Latin, which is in turn from Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (ángelos, “messenger”); later reinforced by Anglo-Norman angele, angel, from the same Latin source. The religious sense of the Greek word first appeared in the Septuagint as a translation of the Hebrew word מַלְאָךְ (malʾāḵ, “messenger”) or מַלְאָךְ יהוה (malʾāḵ YHWH, “messenger of YHWH”). Doublet of Angelus. Use of the term in some churches to refer to a church official derives from interpreting the "angels" of the Seven churches of Asia in Revelation as being bishops or ministers rather than angelic beings.

Synonyms

errand-ghost

This word in other languages

ángel(Español)ange(Français)Engel(Deutsch)anjo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • agnel
  • anegl
  • anggel
  • anngel
  • nagel

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

agnel2anegl2anggel1anngel1nagel2
Edit distance from "angel"

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 "angel"?
"angel" is spelled A-N-G-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈeɪn.d͡ʒl̩/.
What does "angel" mean?
As a noun, "angel" means: An incorporeal and holy or semidivine messenger from a deity or other divine entity, traditionally depicted as a youthful, winged figure in flowing robes.
What words are commonly confused with "angel"?
"angel" is commonly confused with "Anne", "ante", "axel". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "angel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "angel" is /ˈeɪn.d͡ʒl̩/. 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 "angel"?
Two Baroque angels from southern Germany, from the mid-18th century From Middle English aungel, angel, from Old English anġel, either a modification of enġel after its etymon Latin angelus (through the intermediate of Proto-West Germanic *angil) o... 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 "angel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bonus#3,281threw#3,266thick#3,265Egypt#3,294

Similar misspelling depth

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

acid5 variantsduke5 variantsgray5 variantsloose5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list