awe
/ɔː/
"awe" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“awe” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #9,568) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #9,568
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A feeling of fear and reverence.
Corpus desk
Index EN-awe · awe · English
awe · rank #9,568 · 0 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #9,568
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH automation
Nearest frequency peer: automation (-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 “awe”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- atlas
atlas
90,436 corpus weight
- Austrian
Austrian
90,435 corpus weight
- automation
automation
90,434 corpus weight
- awe
awe
90,433 corpus weight
- balancing
balancing
90,432 corpus weight
- banning
banning
90,431 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “awe” 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 | awe |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɔː/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #9,568 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “awe” sits in English frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for awe is neighbouring look-alikes ("AZ", "ay", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ɔː/. Frequency #9,568 among 3,931 “A” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.
No misspelling variants are generated for awe in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "AZ", "ay", "ax", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English aw, awe, agh, awȝe, borrowed from Old Norse agi, from Proto-Germanic *agaz (“terror, dread”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰ- (“to be upset, afraid”). Displaced native Middle English eye, eyȝe, ayȝe, eȝȝe, from Old English ege, æge (“fe… The correct English form is awe, spelled A-W-E.
Definition
- 1A feeling of fear and reverence.
- 2A feeling of amazement.
- 3Power to inspire awe.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how awe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.
For several minutes no one spoke; I think they must each have been as overcome by awe as was I. All about us was a flora and fauna as strange and wonderful to us as might have been those upon a distant planet had we suddenly been miraculously transported through ether to an unknown world.
Etymology
From Middle English aw, awe, agh, awȝe, borrowed from Old Norse agi, from Proto-Germanic *agaz (“terror, dread”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰ- (“to be upset, afraid”). Displaced native Middle English eye, eyȝe, ayȝe, eȝȝe, from Old English ege, æge (“fear, terror, dread”), from the same Proto-Germanic root.
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "awe", not the corpus desk frequency band.
What to do next
You've looked up "awe". Here's where to go from here.
- "awe" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "AZ". View pair
- Usage frequency rank #9,568 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.