comply

/kəmˈplaɪ/

//kəmˈplaɪ// verb

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

"comply" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“comply” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,667. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,667
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To yield assent; to accord; to acquiesce, agree, consent; to adapt oneself, to conform.

Corpus desk

Index EN-comply · comply · English

comply · rank #6,667 · 10 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,667
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Columbus

Nearest frequency peer: Columbus (-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 “comply”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “comply” 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).

comply vs copy
67% similar
comply vs couple
67% similar
comply vs costly
67% similar

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

Key facts for comply
PropertyValue
Headwordcomply
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kəmˈplaɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#6,667
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “comply” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).complylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Columbus” (#6,666), “cope” (#6,668), “collar” (#6,665). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around comply (IPA /kəmˈplaɪ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,667 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for comply, with forms such as "ccomply", "cmoply", and "comlpy". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "copy", "couple", "costly", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Italian complire, Catalan complir (“to complete, fulfil; to carry out”), Spanish cumplir (“to complete, fulfil”), (alternatively from Old French compli), from Latin complēre, from compleō (“to finish, complete; to fulfil”), from com- (prefix indicating… The correct English form is comply, spelled C-O-M-P-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To yield assent; to accord; to acquiesce, agree, consent; to adapt oneself, to conform.
  2. 2
    To accomplish, to fulfil.
  3. 3
    To be ceremoniously courteous; to make one's compliments.
  4. 4
    To enfold; to embrace.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. comply with rules
  2. comply fully

Etymology

From Italian complire, Catalan complir (“to complete, fulfil; to carry out”), Spanish cumplir (“to complete, fulfil”), (alternatively from Old French compli), from Latin complēre, from compleō (“to finish, complete; to fulfil”), from com- (prefix indicating completeness of an act) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, near; by, with”)) + pleō (“to fill; to fulfil”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)). The word is very close to the French verb complaire which means to satisfy or to please. The word is also cognate with Old French complir (“to accomplish, complete; to do”) (modern French accomplir (“to accomplish, achieve”)). Compare complete, compliment.

This word in other languages

cumplir(Español)respecter(Français)einwilligen(Deutsch)concordar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccomply
  • cmoply
  • comlpy
  • commply
  • complly
  • complyy
  • compply
  • compyl
  • copmly
  • ocmply

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccomply1cmoply2comlpy2commply1complly1complyy1compply1compyl2
Edit distance from "comply"

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 "comply"?
"comply" is spelled C-O-M-P-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /kəmˈplaɪ/.
What does "comply" mean?
As a verb, "comply" means: To yield assent; to accord; to acquiesce, agree, consent; to adapt oneself, to conform.
What words are commonly confused with "comply"?
"comply" is commonly confused with "copy", "couple", "costly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "comply"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "comply" is /kəmˈplaɪ/. 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 "comply"?
From Italian complire, Catalan complir (“to complete, fulfil; to carry out”), Spanish cumplir (“to complete, fulfil”), (alternatively from Old French compli), from Latin complēre, from compleō (“to finish, complete; to fulfil”), from com- (prefix ... 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 "comply", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

collar#6,665creepy#6,671brooks#6,660donate#6,675

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

counted10 variantseditors10 variantswarfare10 variantsinduced10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list