asshole
/æshoʊl/
"asshole" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“asshole” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,998. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #3,998
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The anus.
Corpus desk
Index EN-asshole · asshole · English
asshole · rank #3,998 · 8 variants · 2 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #3,998
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH agricultural
Nearest frequency peer: agricultural (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “asshole”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- wolf
wolf
96,006 corpus weight
- absence
absence
96,005 corpus weight
- agricultural
agricultural
96,004 corpus weight
- asshole
asshole
96,003 corpus weight
- ate
ate
96,002 corpus weight
- bears
bears
96,000 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “asshole” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | asshole |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /æshoʊl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #3,998 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “asshole” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around asshole (IPA /æshoʊl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,998 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for asshole, with forms such as "ashole", "ashsole", and "asshhole". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "ashore", "arsehole", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Variant of earlier arsehole, from Middle English arshole, arcehoole, equivalent to ass + hole. Cognate with Norwegian rasshøl (“asshole”), Swedish arsle (“asshole”). Compare also German Arschloch (“asshole”). Attested from the 1370s, replacing earlier Old E… The correct English form is asshole, spelled A-S-S-H-O-L-E.
Definition
- 1The anus.
- 2A jerk; an inappropriately or objectionably mean, inconsiderate, contemptible, obnoxious, intrusive, stupid, or rude person.
- 3Anything (especially a place) that is unpleasant or undesirable.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how asshole appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
That homemade hot sauce of yours got me twice, both coming and going. My asshole is still sore.
She said she couldn't wiggle when she had the doorknob in her asshole.
Etymology
Variant of earlier arsehole, from Middle English arshole, arcehoole, equivalent to ass + hole. Cognate with Norwegian rasshøl (“asshole”), Swedish arsle (“asshole”). Compare also German Arschloch (“asshole”). Attested from the 1370s, replacing earlier Old English earsþyrel (“anus”, literally “ass hole”). First recorded in Middle English, as ers hole (Glouc. Cath. Manuscript 19. No. I., dated 1379, cited after OED), ars-hole (Bodleian Ashmole MS. 1396, dated ca. 1400, ed. Robert Von Fleischhacker as Lanfrank's "Science of Cirurgie", EETS 102, 1894, cited after OED.) Slang figurative usage dates to the 20th century; it was used of an uninviting place (compare shithole) in the 1920s, and then of an anti-social or despicable person from at least the 1950s (Harvard Advocate 137, March 1954). It is also used appositionally (as in "You're an asshole moralist", T. Chamales, 1957).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ashole
- ashsole
- asshhole
- asshloe
- asshoel
- assholle
- assohle
- sashole
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of asshole - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "asshole"?
What does "asshole" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "asshole"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "asshole", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "asshole". Here's where to go from here.
- "asshole" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ashore". View pair
- 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #3,998 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.