asinine

/ˈæs.ɪ.naɪn/

//ˈæs.ɪ.naɪn// adj

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

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

The verdict

“asinine” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #49,193. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#49,193
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Very foolish; failing to exercise intelligence or judgement or rationality.

Corpus desk

Index EN-asinine · asinine · English

asinine · rank #49,193 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #49,193
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH arco

Nearest frequency peer: arco (-3 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 “asinine”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “asinine” 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).

asinine vs arginine
75% similar

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

Key facts for asinine
PropertyValue
Headwordasinine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈæs.ɪ.naɪn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#49,193
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “asinine”

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).asininelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “arco” (#49,190), “antifreeze” (#49,189), “Angell” (#49,188). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “asinine” is #49,193. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around asinine (IPA /ˈæs.ɪ.naɪn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #49,193 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for asinine, with forms such as "aisnine", "asiinne", and "asinien". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "arginine", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin asinīnus (“of a donkey or ass”). The correct English form is asinine, spelled A-S-I-N-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Very foolish; failing to exercise intelligence or judgement or rationality.
  2. 2
    Characteristic of an ass (an asshole): objectionably inconsiderate or jerky.
  3. 3
    Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of donkeys.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. They danced on silently, softly. Their feet played tricks to the beat of the tireless measure, that exquisitely asinine blare which is England's punishment for having lost America.
  2. “Look at this festive assembly. All of us, gathered here together, chuckling at jokes and silliness.” [laughter] “And jackanapery.” [rim shots] “I guess there's only one thing left to say. What is this shit?” [rim shot] [laughter] “[laughs] Very good.” “You call yourselves vampires? Bah. This entire evening has been nothing but a pageant of insipid nonsen…

Etymology

From Latin asinīnus (“of a donkey or ass”).

Synonyms

asinaryassy

This word in other languages

estúpido(Español)asinin(Français)dumm(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aisnine
  • asiinne
  • asinien
  • asininne
  • asinnie
  • asinnine
  • asniine
  • assinine
  • sainine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aisnine2asiinne2asinien2asininne1asinnie2asinnine1asniine2assinine1
Edit distance from "asinine"

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 "asinine"?
"asinine" is spelled A-S-I-N-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæs.ɪ.naɪn/.
What does "asinine" mean?
As an adjective, "asinine" means: Very foolish; failing to exercise intelligence or judgement or rationality.
What words are commonly confused with "asinine"?
"asinine" is commonly confused with "arginine". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "asinine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "asinine" is /ˈæs.ɪ.naɪn/. 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 "asinine"?
From Latin asinīnus (“of a donkey or ass”). 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 "asinine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

anemone#49,187Barrios#49,203Baumann#49,204airdrop#49,178

Similar misspelling depth

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

bhagat9 variantsbicker9 variantsBremer9 variantsYoungs9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list