anvil

/ˈæn.vəl/

//ˈæn.vəl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“anvil” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,361. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,361
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A heavy iron block used in the blacksmithing trade as a surface upon which metal can be struck and shaped.

Corpus desk

Index EN-anvil · anvil · English

anvil · rank #27,361 · 7 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,361
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Anakin

Nearest frequency peer: Anakin (-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 “anvil”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “anvil” 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).

anvil vs Avi
40% similar
anvil vs avid
60% similar
anvil vs avis
60% similar

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

Key facts for anvil
PropertyValue
Headwordanvil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæn.vəl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#27,361
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “anvil”

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).anvillands 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 “Anakin” (#27,360), “ANZAC” (#27,362), “Argos” (#27,363). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “anvil” is #27,361. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around anvil (IPA /ˈæn.vəl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #27,361 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for anvil, with forms such as "anivl", "annvil", and "anvill". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "Avi", "avid", "avis", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English anfilt, anvelt, anfelt, from late Old English anfilt, anfilte, anfealt, from earlier onfilti (“anvil”), from Proto-West Germanic *anafalt (compare Middle Dutch anvilte, Low German Anfilts, Anefilt, Old High German anafalz), compound of *… The correct English form is anvil, spelled A-N-V-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A heavy iron block used in the blacksmithing trade as a surface upon which metal can be struck and shaped.
  2. 2
    The incus bone in the middle ear.
  3. 3
    A stone or other hard surface used by a bird for breaking the shells of snails.
  4. 4
    The non-moving surface of a micrometer against which the item to be measured is placed.
  5. 5
    A horizontal-topped mass of cloud, shaped like a blacksmith's anvil, that forms before a thunderstorm.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. My heart is as an anvil unto sorrow, Which beats upon it like the Cyclops’ hammers […]
  2. I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus, The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool, With open mouth swallowing a tailor’s news […]

Etymology

From Middle English anfilt, anvelt, anfelt, from late Old English anfilt, anfilte, anfealt, from earlier onfilti (“anvil”), from Proto-West Germanic *anafalt (compare Middle Dutch anvilte, Low German Anfilts, Anefilt, Old High German anafalz), compound of *ana (“on”) + *falt (“beaten”) (compare German falzen (“to groove, fold, welt”), Swedish dialectal filta (“to beat”)), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂-t- (“shaken, beaten”) (compare Middle Irish lethar (“leather”), Latin pellō (“to beat, strike”), Ancient Greek πάλλω (pállō, “to toss, brandish”)), enlargement of Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- (“to stir, move”). More at felon.

Synonyms

stithy

This word in other languages

yunque(Español)enclume(Français)Amboss(Deutsch)bigorna(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • anivl
  • annvil
  • anvill
  • anvli
  • anvvil
  • avnil
  • navil

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of anvil - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

anivl2annvil1anvill1anvli2anvvil1avnil2navil2
Edit distance from "anvil"

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 "anvil"?
"anvil" is spelled A-N-V-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæn.vəl/.
What does "anvil" mean?
As a noun, "anvil" means: A heavy iron block used in the blacksmithing trade as a surface upon which metal can be struck and shaped.
What words are commonly confused with "anvil"?
"anvil" is commonly confused with "Avi", "avid", "avis". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "anvil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anvil" is /ˈæn.vəl/. 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 "anvil"?
From Middle English anfilt, anvelt, anfelt, from late Old English anfilt, anfilte, anfealt, from earlier onfilti (“anvil”), from Proto-West Germanic *anafalt (compare Middle Dutch anvilte, Low German Anfilts, Anefilt, Old High German anafalz), com... 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 "anvil", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

ANZAC#27,362Argos#27,363Accra#27,352Whyte#27,340

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

woolly7 variantscabal7 variantsvetted7 variantsteeny7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list