brunt

/bɹʌnt/

//bɹʌnt// noun

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

The verdict

“brunt” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,687. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,687
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The full adverse effects; the chief consequences or negative results of a thing or event.

Corpus desk

Index EN-brunt · brunt · English

brunt · rank #24,687 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,687
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH breezy

Nearest frequency peer: breezy (-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 “brunt”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “brunt” 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).

brunt vs but
60% similar
brunt vs bun
60% similar
brunt vs butt
60% similar

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

Key facts for brunt
PropertyValue
Headwordbrunt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɹʌnt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#24,687
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “brunt”

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).bruntlands 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 “breezy” (#24,686), “bucky” (#24,688), “burgeoning” (#24,689). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “brunt” is #24,687. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around brunt (IPA /bɹʌnt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,687 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for brunt, with forms such as "bbrunt", "brnut", and "brrunt". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "but", "bun", "butt", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English brunt, bront (“sudden onset, attack, charge, blow”), from Old Norse brundr or brundtíð (“oestrus, rut”) (from Proto-Germanic *brunstiz), or bruna (“to rush”, literally “to advance like wildfire”) (see brenna). The correct English form is brunt, spelled B-R-U-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The full adverse effects; the chief consequences or negative results of a thing or event.
  2. 2
    The force or shock of an attack in war.
  3. 3
    The major part of something; the bulk.
  4. 4
    A violent attack or charge in battle.
  5. 5
    A sudden harmful onset or attack (of disease, unbelief, persecution, etc.).
  6. 6
    A spurt, a sudden effort or straining.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Unfortunately, poor areas such as those in New Orleans bore the brunt of Hurricane Katrina’s winds.
  2. There is an economy in the matter of breakages and repairs, for if the plough should be brought up upon a landfast rock, instead of the brunt coming simply on the draught rope, which would either snap or pull the framework of the plough to pieces, it is, through the pull of the one drum upon the other, immediately spread all over the field wherever the ro…

Etymology

From Middle English brunt, bront (“sudden onset, attack, charge, blow”), from Old Norse brundr or brundtíð (“oestrus, rut”) (from Proto-Germanic *brunstiz), or bruna (“to rush”, literally “to advance like wildfire”) (see brenna).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbrunt
  • brnut
  • brrunt
  • brunnt
  • bruntt
  • brutn
  • rbunt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbrunt1brnut2brrunt1brunnt1bruntt1brutn2rbunt2
Edit distance from "brunt"

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 "brunt"?
"brunt" is spelled B-R-U-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹʌnt/.
What does "brunt" mean?
As a noun, "brunt" means: The full adverse effects; the chief consequences or negative results of a thing or event.
What words are commonly confused with "brunt"?
"brunt" is commonly confused with "but", "bun", "butt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "brunt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "brunt" is /bɹʌnt/. 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 "brunt"?
From Middle English brunt, bront (“sudden onset, attack, charge, blow”), from Old Norse brundr or brundtíð (“oestrus, rut”) (from Proto-Germanic *brunstiz), or bruna (“to rush”, literally “to advance like wildfire”) (see brenna). 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 "brunt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list