answer
/ˈɑːn.sə/
"answer" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“answer” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #687. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #687
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 10
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A response or reply; something said or done in reaction to a statement or question.
Corpus desk
Index EN-answer · answer · English
answer · rank #687 · 9 variants · 10 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #687
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH wouldn't
Nearest frequency peer: wouldn't (-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 “answer”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- training
training
99,317 corpus weight
- wish
wish
99,316 corpus weight
- wouldn't
wouldn't
99,315 corpus weight
- answer
answer
99,314 corpus weight
- boy
boy
99,313 corpus weight
- design
design
99,312 corpus weight
What this shows “answer” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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 | answer |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɑːn.sə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #687 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 10 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “answer”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around answer (IPA /ˈɑːn.sə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #687 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for answer, with forms such as "annswer", "ansewr", and "ansswer". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "Asher", "Anwar", "aster", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂éntsder. Proto-Germanic *anda- Proto-Indo-European *swer-der. Proto-Germanic *swarō Proto-Germanic *andaswarō Proto-West Germanic *andaswaru Old English andswaru Middl… The correct English form is answer, spelled A-N-S-W-E-R.
Definition
- 1A response or reply; something said or done in reaction to a statement or question.
- 2A solution to a problem.
- 3Someone or something that fills a similar role or position.
- 4A document filed in response to a complaint, responding to each point raised in the complaint and raising counterpoints.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how answer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Her answer to his proposal was a slap in the face.
When a student types a complex question into a chatbot, they get a polished (though not necessarily authentic, accurate or nuanced) answer in seconds.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂éntsder. Proto-Germanic *anda- Proto-Indo-European *swer-der. Proto-Germanic *swarō Proto-Germanic *andaswarō Proto-West Germanic *andaswaru Old English andswaru Middle English answere English answer From Middle English answere, andsware, from Old English andswaru (“answer”), from and- (“against”) + swaru (“affirmation”), (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- (“front, forehead”) and Old English swerian (“to swear”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer-), suggesting an original meaning of "a sworn statement rebutting a charge". The cognates suggest the existence of Proto-Germanic *andaswarō (“a reply to a question”). Cognate with Old Frisian ondser (“answer”), Old Saxon andswōr (“answer”), Danish and Swedish ansvar (“liability, responsibility, answer”), Icelandic andsvar (“answer, response”). Compare also Old English andwyrde (“answer”) (cognate to Dutch antwoord, German Antwort), Old English andcwiss (“reply”), German Schwur (“oath, vow”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- annswer
- ansewr
- ansswer
- answerr
- answre
- answwer
- anwser
- asnwer
- naswer
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of answer - 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.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "answer", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).