blunder

/ˈblʌn.də(ɹ)/

//ˈblʌn.də(ɹ)// noun

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

"blunder" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“blunder” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,395. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,395
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A clumsy or embarrassing mistake.

Corpus desk

Index EN-blunder · blunder · English

blunder · rank #24,395 · 11 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,395
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH booing

Nearest frequency peer: booing (+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 “blunder”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “blunder” 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).

blunder vs bunker
71% similar
blunder vs boulder
71% similar
blunder vs bounded
71% similar

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

Key facts for blunder
PropertyValue
Headwordblunder
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈblʌn.də(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#24,395
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “blunder”

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).blunderlands 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 “booing” (#24,396), “blacklist” (#24,393), “Bharat” (#24,392). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blunder” is #24,395. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around blunder (IPA /ˈblʌn.də(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,395 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for blunder, with forms such as "bblunder", "bllunder", and "blnuder". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "bunker", "boulder", "bounded", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English blundren, blondren (verb) and blunder, blonder (“disturbance, strife”), from the verb; partly from Middle English blondren, a frequentative form of Middle English blonden, blanden ("to mix; mix up"; corresponding to blend + -er… The correct English form is blunder, spelled B-L-U-N-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A clumsy or embarrassing mistake.
  2. 2
    A very bad move, usually caused by some tactical oversight.
  3. 3
    Confusion; bewilderment; trouble; disturbance; clamour.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English blundren, blondren (verb) and blunder, blonder (“disturbance, strife”), from the verb; partly from Middle English blondren, a frequentative form of Middle English blonden, blanden ("to mix; mix up"; corresponding to blend + -er); and partly from Middle English blundren, a frequentative form of Middle English blunden (“to stagger; stumble”), from Old Norse blunda (“to shut the eyes; doze”). Cognates include Norwegian blunda (“to shut the eyes; doze”), dialectal Swedish blundra (“to act blindly or rashly”), Danish blunde (“to blink”) or blunde (“to take a nap”), Icelandic blunda (“to nap; doze”). Related to English blind.

Synonyms

bloopergoofhowlererror

This word in other languages

error(Español)gaffe(Français)Patzer(Deutsch)erro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bblunder
  • bllunder
  • blnuder
  • bludner
  • blundder
  • blunderr
  • blundre
  • blunedr
  • blunnder
  • bulnder
  • lbunder

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bblunder1bllunder1blnuder2bludner2blundder1blunderr1blundre2blunedr2
Edit distance from "blunder"

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 "blunder"?
"blunder" is spelled B-L-U-N-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblʌn.də(ɹ)/.
What does "blunder" mean?
As a noun, "blunder" means: A clumsy or embarrassing mistake.
What words are commonly confused with "blunder"?
"blunder" is commonly confused with "bunker", "boulder", "bounded". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "blunder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blunder" is /ˈblʌn.də(ɹ)/. 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 "blunder"?
Inherited from Middle English blundren, blondren (verb) and blunder, blonder (“disturbance, strife”), from the verb; partly from Middle English blondren, a frequentative form of Middle English blonden, blanden ("to mix; mix up"; corresponding to b... 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 "blunder", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

angelic#24,376Cummins#24,418acutely#24,369dieting#24,425

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

baffling11 variantswetland11 variantsWaldorf11 variantsetching11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list