cowed

/kaʊd/

//kaʊd// adj

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

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

The verdict

“cowed” is uncommon English (frequency #59,302 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,302
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Frightened into submission.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cowed · cowed · English

cowed · rank #59,302 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,302
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH corrode

Nearest frequency peer: corrode (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “cowed”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cowed” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cowed
PropertyValue
Headwordcowed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kaʊd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#59,302
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cowed” in English

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).cowedfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “corrode” (#59,300), “crannies” (#59,304), “crapped” (#59,305). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cowed” is #59,302. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cowed is uncommon English at frequency #59,302 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /kaʊd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Frightened into submission.".

Zero misspellings are on record for cowed in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: * Probable origins are Scandinavian, cf. Danish kue, to subdue. The correct English form is cowed, spelled C-O-W-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Frightened into submission.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. For quotations using this term, see Citations:cowed.

Etymology

* Probable origins are Scandinavian, cf. Danish kue, to subdue.

Synonyms

intimidated

This word in other languages

intimidado(Español)intimidé(Français)eingeschüchtert(Deutsch)

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 "cowed"?
"cowed" is spelled C-O-W-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /kaʊd/.
What does "cowed" mean?
As an adjective, "cowed" means: Frightened into submission.
How do you pronounce "cowed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cowed" is /kaʊd/. 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 "cowed"?
* Probable origins are Scandinavian, cf. Danish kue, to subdue. 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 "cowed", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

coots#59,297croak#59,307clued#59,277chafe#59,270

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list