avatar

/əʋ(ə)t̪ɑr/

//əʋ(ə)t̪ɑr// noun

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

"avatar" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“avatar” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,339. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,339
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.

Corpus desk

Index EN-avatar · avatar · English

avatar · rank #11,339 · 8 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,339
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Bali

Nearest frequency peer: Bali (+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 “avatar”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “avatar” 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).

avatar vs aviator
71% similar
avatar vs altar
67% similar
avatar vs Akhtar
50% similar

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

Key facts for avatar
PropertyValue
Headwordavatar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əʋ(ə)t̪ɑr/
Letters6
Frequency rank#11,339
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “avatar”

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).avatarlands 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 “Bali” (#11,340), “apt” (#11,337), “Bangalore” (#11,341). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “avatar” is #11,339. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around avatar (IPA /əʋ(ə)t̪ɑr/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,339 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for avatar, with forms such as "aavtar", "avaatr", and "avatarr". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "aviator", "altar", "Akhtar", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: First use appears c. 1784, in The Hindu Wife; or, The Enchanted Fruit, by William Jones. Borrowed from Hindustani अवतार (avtār) / اوتار (avtār), from Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra, “descent of a deity from a heaven”), a compound of अव (ava, “off, away, down”) and… The correct English form is avatar, spelled A-V-A-T-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
  2. 2
    The embodiment of an idea or concept; an instantiation, especially a personification or incarnation.
  3. 3
    A complex and dynamic digital representation of a person or being in the form of a digital model, used online as a simulation or emulation of a person, or as a person's online alter ego, in a virtual world, virtual chat room, or metaverse.
  4. 4
    A simple and static or nearly static digital representation of a person or being in the form of a small digital object, used online as a simulacrum or token of a person or that person's online alter ego, in any digital environment but especially in nonvirtual, nonmetaversal ones.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. ...that a new avatar of Mrs. Siddons has appeared at Covent Garden, in the shape of her niece Fanny Kemble...
  2. And honest Alan, who was a grim fire-eater in his day, has in this new avatar no more desperate purpose than to steal some young gentleman's attention from his Ovid, […] [Contrasting the historical Alan Breac with his incarnation in the novel.]

Etymology

First use appears c. 1784, in The Hindu Wife; or, The Enchanted Fruit, by William Jones. Borrowed from Hindustani अवतार (avtār) / اوتار (avtār), from Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra, “descent of a deity from a heaven”), a compound of अव (ava, “off, away, down”) and the vṛddhi-stem of the root तॄ (tṝ, “to cross”) (whence तरति (tarati)). In the computing sense, some use appeared in video games in the 1980s, such as the online roleplaying game Habitat (1985) by Lucasfilm Games (today LucasArts), by Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer, later versions of the Ultima series (following religious use in Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985)), and the pen and paper role-playing game Shadowrun (1989). Also popularized by the novel Snow Crash (1992) by Neal Stephenson.

This word in other languages

avatar(Español)avatar(Français)Avatar(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aavtar
  • avaatr
  • avatarr
  • avatra
  • avattar
  • avtaar
  • avvatar
  • vaatar

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aavtar2avaatr2avatarr1avatra2avattar1avtaar2avvatar1vaatar2
Edit distance from "avatar"

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 "avatar"?
"avatar" is spelled A-V-A-T-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /əʋ(ə)t̪ɑr/.
What does "avatar" mean?
As a noun, "avatar" means: An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
What words are commonly confused with "avatar"?
"avatar" is commonly confused with "aviator", "altar", "Akhtar". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "avatar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "avatar" is /əʋ(ə)t̪ɑr/. 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 "avatar"?
First use appears c. 1784, in The Hindu Wife; or, The Enchanted Fruit, by William Jones. Borrowed from Hindustani अवतार (avtār) / اوتار (avtār), from Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra, “descent of a deity from a heaven”), a compound of अव (ava, “off, away, ... 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 "avatar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

abuses#11,332bumper#11,351who've#11,326Wesley#11,323

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Brent8 variantswrath8 variantsbullied8 variantschalk8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list