antique

/ˌanˈtiːk/

//ˌanˈtiːk// adj

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

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

The verdict

“antique” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,755. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,755
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome.

Corpus desk

Index EN-antique · antique · English

antique · rank #8,755 · 9 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,755
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ant

Nearest frequency peer: ant (-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 “antique”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “antique” 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).

antique vs antiques
88% similar
antique vs Antigua
57% similar

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

Key facts for antique
PropertyValue
Headwordantique
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌanˈtiːk/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,755
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “antique”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).antiquelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “ant” (#8,754), “autonomy” (#8,756), “Alberta” (#8,753). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “antique” is #8,755. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around antique (IPA /ˌanˈtiːk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #8,755 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for antique, with forms such as "anitque", "anntique", and "antiqeu". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "antiques", "Antigua", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French antique (“ancient, old”), from Latin antiquus (“former, earlier, ancient, old”), from ante (“before”); see ante-. Doublet of antic. The correct English form is antique, spelled A-N-T-I-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome.
  2. 2
    Belonging to former times, not modern, out of date, old-fashioned.
  3. 3
    Designating a style of type.
  4. 4
    Embossed without gilt.
  5. 5
    Synonym of old (“of color: subdued, as if faded over time”).
  6. 6
    Synonym of antic, specifically
  7. 7
    Synonym of antic, specifically:

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] Phillip the younger issue of the king, / Coting the other hill in such arraie, / That all his guilded vpright pikes do seeme, / Streight trees of gold, the pendant leaues, / And their deuice of Antique heraldry, / Quartred in collours seeming sundy fruits, / Makes it the Orchard of the Hesperides, […]
  2. Not that great Champion of the antique world, / Whom famous Poets verse so much doth daunt, / And hath for twelue huge labours high extold, / So many furies and sharp fits did haunt, / […]

Etymology

Borrowed from French antique (“ancient, old”), from Latin antiquus (“former, earlier, ancient, old”), from ante (“before”); see ante-. Doublet of antic.

Synonyms

antiquateddisusedoutdatedobsolete

This word in other languages

antiguo(Español)ancien(Français)antik(Deutsch)antigo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • anitque
  • anntique
  • antiqeu
  • antiqque
  • antiuqe
  • antqiue
  • anttique
  • atnique
  • natique

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

anitque2anntique1antiqeu2antiqque1antiuqe2antqiue2anttique1atnique2
Edit distance from "antique"

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 "antique"?
"antique" is spelled A-N-T-I-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌanˈtiːk/.
What does "antique" mean?
As an adjective, "antique" means: Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome.
What words are commonly confused with "antique"?
"antique" is commonly confused with "antiques", "Antigua". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "antique"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "antique" is /ˌanˈtiːk/. 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 "antique"?
Borrowed from French antique (“ancient, old”), from Latin antiquus (“former, earlier, ancient, old”), from ante (“before”); see ante-. Doublet of antic. 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 "antique", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Alberta#8,753Baptist#8,757booking#8,760unified#8,740

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

unaware9 variantscrosses9 variantscurves9 variantsswallow9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list