Clare

/klɛə/

//klɛə// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“Clare” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,020. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,020
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A county of Ireland.

Corpus desk

Index EN-clare · Clare · English

Clare · rank #12,020 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,020
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH chord

Nearest frequency peer: chord (-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 “Clare”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Clare” 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).

Clare vs core
40% similar
Clare vs cure
40% similar
Clare vs clay
40% similar

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

Key facts for Clare
PropertyValue
HeadwordClare
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/klɛə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#12,020
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Clare”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Clarelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “chord” (#12,019), “cellphone” (#12,018), “contracting” (#12,022). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “Clare” is #12,020. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around Clare (IPA /klɛə/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #12,020 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for Clare, with forms such as "calre", "cclare", and "clarre". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "core", "cure", "clay", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The anglicized spelling of Irish Clár, from Old Irish clár (“plank, board”), from Proto-Celtic *klāros, *klārom (“table”). The correct English form is Clare, spelled C-L-A-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A county of Ireland.
  2. 2
    A town in County Cavan, Ireland.
  3. 3
    A district municipality in Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada, named after County Clare.
  4. 4
    A number of places in the United States, likely to be named after County Clare:
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States, likely to be named after County Clare:
  6. 6
    A number of places in the United States, likely to be named after County Clare:
  7. 7
    A number of places in the United States, likely to be named after County Clare:
  8. 8
    A number of places in the United States, likely to be named after County Clare:
  9. 9
    A number of places in the United States, likely to be named after County Clare:
  10. 10
    A town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa.
  11. 11
    A locality in the Balranald council area, south-western New South Wales, Australia.
  12. 12
    A town in Clare and Gilbert Valleys council area, Mid North region, South Australia.
  13. 13
    A unisex given name.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Life on Martha’s Vineyard has been mostly ideal for 11-year-old Mary Elizabeth Lambert, the protagonist of Ann Clare LeZotte’s historical novel SHOW ME A SIGN (Scholastic, 288 pp., $18.99; ages 8 to 12).

Etymology

The anglicized spelling of Irish Clár, from Old Irish clár (“plank, board”), from Proto-Celtic *klāros, *klārom (“table”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • calre
  • cclare
  • clarre
  • cllare
  • clrae
  • lcare

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Clare - 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.

calre2cclare1clarre1cllare1clrae2lcare2
Edit distance from "Clare"

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 "Clare"?
"Clare" is spelled C-L-A-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /klɛə/.
What does "Clare" mean?
As a proper noun, "Clare" means: A county of Ireland.
What words are commonly confused with "Clare"?
"Clare" is commonly confused with "core", "cure", "clay". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Clare"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Clare" is /klɛə/. 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 "Clare"?
The anglicized spelling of Irish Clár, from Old Irish clár (“plank, board”), from Proto-Celtic *klāros, *klārom (“table”). 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 "Clare", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

chord#12,019cooks#12,023Bronx#12,014crest#12,027

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

booze6 variantsdang6 variantstilt6 variantsfuzzy6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list