awash

/əˈwɒʃ/

//əˈwɒʃ// adj

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

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

The verdict

“awash” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,739. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,739
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Washed by the waves or tide (of a rock or strip of shore, or of an anchor, etc., when flush with the surface of the water, so that the waves break over it); covered with water.

Corpus desk

Index EN-awash · awash · English

awash · rank #38,739 · 7 variants · 14 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,739
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH autumnal

Nearest frequency peer: autumnal (-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 “awash”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “awash” 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).

awash vs AWS
0% similar
awash vs away
60% similar
awash vs aways
60% similar

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

Key facts for awash
PropertyValue
Headwordawash
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈwɒʃ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#38,739
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “awash”

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).awashlands 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 “autumnal” (#38,738), “backstreet” (#38,740), “Bagley” (#38,741). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “awash” is #38,739. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around awash (IPA /əˈwɒʃ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #38,739 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for awash, with forms such as "aawsh", "awahs", and "awashh". 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 14 confusable-pair relationships, "AWS", "away", "aways", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a- + wash. The correct English form is awash, spelled A-W-A-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Washed by the waves or tide (of a rock or strip of shore, or of an anchor, etc., when flush with the surface of the water, so that the waves break over it); covered with water.
  2. 2
    Covered, overspread (with or in something).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The former rock is awash at low water […]
  2. The deck was continually awash with the sea which came inboard over the rail and through the scuppers.

Etymology

From a- + wash.

Synonyms

aslosh

This word in other languages

inundado(Español)überschwemmt(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aawsh
  • awahs
  • awashh
  • awassh
  • awsah
  • awwash
  • waash

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aawsh2awahs2awashh1awassh1awsah2awwash1waash2
Edit distance from "awash"

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 "awash"?
"awash" is spelled A-W-A-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈwɒʃ/.
What does "awash" mean?
As an adjective, "awash" means: Washed by the waves or tide (of a rock or strip of shore, or of an anchor, etc., when flush with the surface of the water, so that the waves break over it); covered with water.
What words are commonly confused with "awash"?
"awash" is commonly confused with "AWS", "away", "aways". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "awash"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "awash" is /əˈwɒʃ/. 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 "awash"?
From a- + wash. 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 "awash", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Basra#38,747anima#38,725boson#38,765brawn#38,767

Similar misspelling depth

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

Cappella7 variantsVerma7 variantsDijon7 variantsTalib7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list