civilized
/ˈsɪv.ɪ.laɪzd/
"civilized" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“civilized” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,492 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #14,492
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having a highly developed society or culture; belonging to civilization.
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 | civilized |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈsɪv.ɪ.laɪzd/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #14,492 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “civilized” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for civilized is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɪv.ɪ.laɪzd/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,492 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for civilized, with forms such as "ccivilized", "ciivlized", and "civiilzed". 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, "civilised", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is civilized, spelled C-I-V-I-L-I-Z-E-D.
Definition
- 1Having a highly developed society or culture; belonging to civilization.
- 2Showing evidence of moral and intellectual advancement; humane, reasonable, ethical.
- 3Marked by refinement in taste and manners.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccivilized,ciivlized,civiilzed,civiliezd,civilizde,civilizedd,civilizzed,civillized,civilzied,civliized,civvilized,cviilized,icvilized
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of civilized - 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
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Using “civilized”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-I-V-I-L-I-Z-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɪv.ɪ.laɪzd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “civilised” - see the side-by-side comparison. civilized vs civilised
- 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.