courageous

/kəˈɹeɪd͡ʒəs/

//kəˈɹeɪd͡ʒəs// adj

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

"courageous" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“courageous” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,127. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,127
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of a person, displaying or possessing courage.

Corpus desk

Index EN-courageous · courageous · English

courageous · rank #13,127 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,127
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cortex

Nearest frequency peer: cortex (-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 “courageous”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “courageous” 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).

courageous vs courteous
80% similar
courageous vs courageously
83% similar

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

Key facts for courageous
PropertyValue
Headwordcourageous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kəˈɹeɪd͡ʒəs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#13,127
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “courageous”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).courageouslands 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 “cortex” (#13,126), “crawling” (#13,128), “coordinating” (#13,125). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “courageous” is #13,127. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around courageous (IPA /kəˈɹeɪd͡ʒəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #13,127 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for courageous, with forms such as "ccourageous", "coruageous", and "couargeous". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "courteous", "courageously", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English corajous, from Old French corageus, from corage + -eus. The correct English form is courageous, spelled C-O-U-R-A-G-E-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a person, displaying or possessing courage.
  2. 2
    Of an action, that requires courage.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the most courageous person I have ever met
  2. In 1979, following Jimmy Carter’s unexpected and unreasonable decision to transfer diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, the Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act to preserve our relationship with this courageous nation. We believed that it was vital for our allies and for those who were not our allies to know that the United States would not…

Etymology

From Middle English corajous, from Old French corageus, from corage + -eus.

This word in other languages

valiente(Español)mutig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccourageous
  • coruageous
  • couargeous
  • couraegous
  • courageosu
  • courageouss
  • courageuos
  • couraggeous
  • couragoeus
  • courgaeous
  • courrageous
  • cuorageous
  • ocurageous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of courageous - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccourageous1coruageous2couargeous2couraegous2courageosu2courageouss1courageuos2couraggeous1
Edit distance from "courageous"

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 "courageous"?
"courageous" is spelled C-O-U-R-A-G-E-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈɹeɪd͡ʒəs/.
What does "courageous" mean?
As an adjective, "courageous" means: Of a person, displaying or possessing courage.
What words are commonly confused with "courageous"?
"courageous" is commonly confused with "courteous", "courageously". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "courageous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "courageous" is /kəˈɹeɪd͡ʒəs/. 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 "courageous"?
From Middle English corajous, from Old French corageus, from corage + -eus. 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 "courageous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

economical#13,141exposition#13,146fundraiser#13,154aesthetics#13,087

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

crawling13 variantsconverts13 variantsduplicate13 variantsempowered13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list