carnage
/ˈkɑː.nɪdʒ/
"carnage" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“carnage” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,553 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #19,553
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Death and destruction.
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 | carnage |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɑː.nɪdʒ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #19,553 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “carnage” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for carnage is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɑː.nɪdʒ/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,553 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for carnage, with forms such as "acrnage", "canrage", and "carange". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Carne", "carnal", "coinage", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French carnage, from a Norman or Picard variant Old Northern French) of Old French charnage, from char (“flesh”), or from Vulgar Latin *carnaticum (“slaughter of animals”), itself from Latin carnem, accusative of caro (“flesh”). The correct English form is carnage, spelled C-A-R-N-A-G-E.
Definition
- 1Death and destruction.
- 2The corpses, gore, etc. that remain after a massacre.
- 3Any great loss by a team; a game in which one team wins overwhelmingly.
- 4A heavy drinking binge and its aftermath.
- 5Any chaotic situation.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French carnage, from a Norman or Picard variant Old Northern French) of Old French charnage, from char (“flesh”), or from Vulgar Latin *carnaticum (“slaughter of animals”), itself from Latin carnem, accusative of caro (“flesh”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acrnage,canrage,carange,carnaeg,carnagge,carngae,carnnage,carrnage,ccarnage,cranage
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of carnage - 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.
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 "carnage"?
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Using “carnage”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-R-N-A-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɑː.nɪdʒ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Carne” - see the side-by-side comparison. carnage vs Carne
- 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.