breathless

/ˈbɹɛθləs/

//ˈbɹɛθləs// adj

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

"breathless" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“breathless” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,596. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,596
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having difficulty breathing; gasping.

Corpus desk

Index EN-breathless · breathless · English

breathless · rank #22,596 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #22,596
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH briefed

Nearest frequency peer: briefed (+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 “breathless”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “breathless” 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).

breathless vs breathes
80% similar

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

Key facts for breathless
PropertyValue
Headwordbreathless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈbɹɛθləs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#22,596
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “breathless”

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).breathlesslands 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 “briefed” (#22,597), “breakaway” (#22,594), “brainer” (#22,593). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “breathless” is #22,596. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around breathless (IPA /ˈbɹɛθləs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #22,596 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for breathless, with forms such as "bbreathless", "berathless", and "braethless". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "breathes", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From breath + -less. The correct English form is breathless, spelled B-R-E-A-T-H-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having difficulty breathing; gasping.
  2. 2
    That makes one hold one's breath (with excitement etc.).
  3. 3
    Not breathing; dead or apparently so.
  4. 4
    Having no wind; still, calm or airless.
  5. 5
    Having a somewhat hysterical tone, using over-emotive language.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In thoughtless and breathless fear I rushed forward to avoid this host of demons, but while flying thus still more frightful and distorted shapes appeared, and I fancied I felt their hands clutching me.
  2. By that stage Sevilla were down to 10 men and Jorge Sampaoli, their manager, had been sent to the stands as a breathless encounter started to spiral out of control.

Etymology

From breath + -less.

This word in other languages

atemlos(Deutsch)ofegar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbreathless
  • berathless
  • braethless
  • breahtless
  • breathelss
  • breathhless
  • breathles
  • breathlless
  • breathlses
  • breatlhess
  • breatthless
  • bretahless
  • brreathless
  • rbeathless

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbreathless1berathless2braethless2breahtless2breathelss2breathhless1breathles1breathlless1
Edit distance from "breathless"

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 "breathless"?
"breathless" is spelled B-R-E-A-T-H-L-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɹɛθləs/.
What does "breathless" mean?
As an adjective, "breathless" means: Having difficulty breathing; gasping.
What words are commonly confused with "breathless"?
"breathless" is commonly confused with "breathes". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "breathless"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "breathless" is /ˈbɹɛθləs/. 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 "breathless"?
From breath + -less. 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 "breathless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

caricature#22,605chandelier#22,611complacent#22,622Alessandro#22,569

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

complicit14 variantsabbreviated14 variantscourtship14 variantsdystopian14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list