anomaly

/əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/

//əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“anomaly” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,568. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,568
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 deviation from a rule or from what is regarded as normal; an outlier.

Corpus desk

Index EN-anomaly · anomaly · English

anomaly · rank #15,568 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,568
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH analyse

Nearest frequency peer: analyse (-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 “anomaly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “anomaly” 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).

anomaly vs animal
71% similar
anomaly vs animals
71% similar

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

Key facts for anomaly
PropertyValue
Headwordanomaly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#15,568
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “anomaly”

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).anomalylands 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 “analyse” (#15,567), “aperture” (#15,569), “Ambrose” (#15,566). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “anomaly” is #15,568. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around anomaly (IPA /əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,568 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    A deviation from a rule or from what is regarded as normal; an outlier.
  2. 2
    Something or someone that is strange or unusual.
  3. 3
    Any event or measurement that is out of the ordinary regardless of whether it is exceptional or not.
  4. 4
    Any of various angular distances.
  5. 5
    A defect or malformation.
  6. 6
    A failure of a classical symmetry due to quantum corrections.
  7. 7
    An irregularity or disproportion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This ardent exploration, absorbing all his energy and interest, made him forget for the moment the mystery of his heritage and the anomaly that cut him off from all his fellows.
  2. He is an anomaly among his friends in that he's the only one who's unmarried.

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”).

Synonyms

aberrantabnormalityanomalydeviancedeviantfarliefreakirregularityodd fishoddityoutlierpeculiarityqueernessrarityrumstrange fishstrangenessunusualnessweirdness

This word in other languages

anomalía(Español)anomalie(Français)Anomalie(Deutsch)anomalia(Português)

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.

anmoaly2annomaly1anoamly2anomally1anomalyy1anomayl2anomlay2anommaly1
Edit distance from "anomaly"

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"?
"anomaly" is spelled A-N-O-M-A-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/.
What does "anomaly" mean?
As a noun, "anomaly" means: A deviation from a rule or from what is regarded as normal; an outlier.
What words are commonly confused with "anomaly"?
"anomaly" is commonly confused with "animal", "animals". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "anomaly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anomaly" is /əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/. 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 "anomaly"?
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”). 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 "anomaly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

analyse#15,567Ambrose#15,566Alberto#15,563benches#15,573

Similar misspelling depth

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

alleging10 variantsAchilles10 variantscascade10 variantscleanse10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list