anomaly
/əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/
"anomaly" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“anomaly” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,568 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #15,568
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A deviation from a rule or from what is regarded as normal; an outlier.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | anomaly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #15,568 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “anomaly” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for anomaly is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,568 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for anomaly, with forms such as "anmoaly", "annomaly", and "anoamly". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "animal", "animals", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin anomalia, from Ancient Greek ἀνωμαλία (anōmalía, “irregularity, anomaly”), from ἀνώμαλος (anṓmalos, “irregular, uneven”), negating the meaning of ὁμαλός (homalós, “even”), from ὁμός (homós, “same”). The correct English form is anomaly, spelled A-N-O-M-A-L-Y.
Definition
- 1A deviation from a rule or from what is regarded as normal; an outlier.
- 2Something or someone that is strange or unusual.
- 3Any event or measurement that is out of the ordinary regardless of whether it is exceptional or not.
- 4Any of various angular distances.
- 5A defect or malformation.
- 6A failure of a classical symmetry due to quantum corrections.
- 7An irregularity or disproportion.
Etymology
From Latin anomalia, from Ancient Greek ἀνωμαλία (anōmalía, “irregularity, anomaly”), from ἀνώμαλος (anṓmalos, “irregular, uneven”), negating the meaning of ὁμαλός (homalós, “even”), from ὁμός (homós, “same”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: anmoaly,annomaly,anoamly,anomally,anomalyy,anomayl,anomlay,anommaly,aonmaly,naomaly
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of anomaly - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "anomaly"?
What does "anomaly" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "anomaly"?
How do you pronounce "anomaly"?
What is the origin of the word "anomaly"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “anomaly”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-N-O-M-A-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “animal” - see the side-by-side comparison. anomaly vs animal
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.