buffoon
/bəˈfuːn/
"buffoon" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“buffoon” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,905. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #36,905
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who performs in a silly or ridiculous fashion; a clown or fool.
Corpus desk
Index EN-buffoon · buffoon · English
buffoon · rank #36,905 · 7 variants · 1 confusable
- FREQ-MID #36,905
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH bucking
Nearest frequency peer: bucking (-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 “buffoon”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Bruges
Bruges
63,098 corpus weight
- bucking
bucking
63,097 corpus weight
- buffoon
buffoon
63,096 corpus weight
- bullseye
bullseye
63,095 corpus weight
- bumbling
bumbling
63,094 corpus weight
- Byzantium
Byzantium
63,093 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “buffoon” 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 | buffoon |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /bəˈfuːn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #36,905 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “buffoon” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around buffoon (IPA /bəˈfuːn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #36,905 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for buffoon, with forms such as "bbuffoon", "bfufoon", and "buffono". 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, "buffon", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French bouffon, from Italian buffone (“jester”), from buffare (“to puff out the cheeks”), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Middle High German buffen ("to puff"; > German büffen), Old English pyffan (“to breathe out, blow with the mouth”). More at… The correct English form is buffoon, spelled B-U-F-F-O-O-N.
Definition
- 1One who performs in a silly or ridiculous fashion; a clown or fool.
- 2An unintentionally ridiculous person.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how buffoon appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
To divert the audience with buffoon postures and antic dances.
Etymology
From Middle French bouffon, from Italian buffone (“jester”), from buffare (“to puff out the cheeks”), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Middle High German buffen ("to puff"; > German büffen), Old English pyffan (“to breathe out, blow with the mouth”). More at English puff.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- bbuffoon
- bfufoon
- buffono
- buffoonn
- bufofon
- bufoon
- ubffoon
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of buffoon - 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
How do you spell "buffoon"?
What does "buffoon" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "buffoon", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "buffoon". Here's where to go from here.
- This headword has one recorded confusable pair with "buffon". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #36,905 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–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.