azure
/ˈæʒə/
"azure" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“azure” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #18,245 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #18,245
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The clear blue colour of the sky; also, a pigment or dye of this colour.
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 | azure |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈæʒə/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #18,245 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “azure” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for azure is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæʒə/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,245 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for azure, with forms such as "auzre", "azrue", and "azuer". 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 12 confusable-pair relationships, "are", "acre", "aura", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English asure, from Old French azur, derived from Arabic لَازَوَرْد (lāzaward, “lapis lazuli”), dropping the l as if it were equivalent to the French article l'. The Arabic is from Classical Persian لاجورد (lājward, “lapis lazuli”), from the reg… The correct English form is azure, spelled A-Z-U-R-E.
Definition
- 1The clear blue colour of the sky; also, a pigment or dye of this colour.
- 2A blue colour on a coat of arms, represented in engraving by horizontal parallel lines.
- 3The unclouded sky; the blue vault above.
- 4Any of various widely distributed lycaenid butterflies of the genus Celastrina.
- 5Any of various Australasian lycaenid butterflies of the genus Ogyris.
- 6Lapis lazuli.
Etymology
From Middle English asure, from Old French azur, derived from Arabic لَازَوَرْد (lāzaward, “lapis lazuli”), dropping the l as if it were equivalent to the French article l'. The Arabic is from Classical Persian لاجورد (lājward, “lapis lazuli”), from the region of Lajward in Badakhshan. Compare with Italian azzurro and Spanish azul.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: auzre,azrue,azuer,azurre,azzure,zaure
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of azure - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “azure”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-Z-U-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæʒə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “are” - see the side-by-side comparison. azure vs are
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.