cataracts
/ˈkætəɹækts/
"cataracts" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cataracts” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,369. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #37,369
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The floodgates of heaven, regarded as holding back the rain.
Corpus desk
Index EN-cataracts · cataracts · English
cataracts · rank #37,369 · 14 variants · 1 confusable
- FREQ-MID #37,369
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
- VAR-HIGH 14 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH Cartagena
Nearest frequency peer: Cartagena (-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 “cataracts”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- capricious
capricious
62,635 corpus weight
- carcinogenic
carcinogenic
62,634 corpus weight
- Cartagena
Cartagena
62,633 corpus weight
- cataracts
cataracts
62,632 corpus weight
- cation
cation
62,631 corpus weight
- CDU
CDU
62,629 corpus weight
What this shows “cataracts” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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 | cataracts |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkætəɹækts/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #37,369 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cataracts”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 14 spelling variants around cataracts (IPA /ˈkætəɹækts/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,369 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The floodgates of heaven, regarded as holding back the rain.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for cataracts, with forms such as "actaracts", "caatracts", and "cataarcts". 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, "cataract", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *ḱóm From Late Middle English cataractes, cataractis, cateractes, used to translate καταρράκται (katarrháktai, “(probably) floodgates, sluices”) in the Septuagint and cataractae (“floodgates, sluices”) in the Vulgate versions of the Bible. The Mid… The correct English form is cataracts, spelled C-A-T-A-R-A-C-T-S.
Definition
- 1The floodgates of heaven, regarded as holding back the rain.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how cataracts appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
No ſooner hee [Noah] vvith them of Man and Beaſt / Select for life ſhall in the Ark be lodg'd, / And ſhelterd round, but all the Cataracts / Of Heav'n ſet open on the Earth ſhall povvre / Raine day and night, […]
Etymology
PIE word *ḱóm From Late Middle English cataractes, cataractis, cateractes, used to translate καταρράκται (katarrháktai, “(probably) floodgates, sluices”) in the Septuagint and cataractae (“floodgates, sluices”) in the Vulgate versions of the Bible. The Middle English words are plural forms of cataract, cataracta, cateract, cateracte (“floodgate of heaven”), from Old French cataracte (modern French cataracte), and from its etymon Latin cataracta (“floodgate; waterfall”), from Ancient Greek καταρ(ρ)άκτης (katar(rh)áktēs, “(noun) waterfall; (adjective) rushing downwards”), from καταρ(ρ)ᾱ́σσω (katar(rh)ā́ssō, “to pour down; to rush downwards”) + -της (-tēs, suffix forming nouns denoting a state of being). Καταρ(ρ)ᾱ́σσω (Katar(rh)ā́ssō) is derived either: * from κᾰτᾰ- (kătă-, prefix meaning ‘downwards’) + ἀρᾰ́σσω (arắssō, “to dash to pieces; to strike”) (further etymology unknown, possibly onomatopoeic) or ῥᾱ́σσω (rhā́ssō, “to dash; to strike”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wreh₂ǵʰ- (“to pound, strike”)); or * from καταρρηγνύναι (katarrhēgnúnai, “to break down”). By surface analysis, cataract + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum).
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- actaracts
- caatracts
- cataarcts
- cataraccts
- cataracst
- cataractss
- cataractts
- cataratcs
- catarcats
- catarracts
- catraacts
- cattaracts
- ccataracts
- ctaaracts
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cataracts - 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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cataracts", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).