crazy

/ˈkɹeɪ.zi/

//ˈkɹeɪ.zi// adj

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

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

The verdict

“crazy” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #898. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#898
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of unsound mind; insane; demented.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crazy · crazy · English

crazy · rank #898 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #898
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH changed

Nearest frequency peer: changed (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “crazy”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “crazy” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

crazy vs cry
60% similar
crazy vs Cruz
40% similar
crazy vs crony
60% similar

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

Key facts for crazy
PropertyValue
Headwordcrazy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈkɹeɪ.zi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#898
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “crazy” 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).crazylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “changed” (#897), “daily” (#899), “career” (#896). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around crazy (IPA /ˈkɹeɪ.zi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #898 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for crazy, with forms such as "carzy", "ccrazy", and "crayz". 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, "cry", "Cruz", "crony", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From craze (“to crush”) + -y, akin to being "crazed up". Compare cracked up (“suffered a mental breakdown; be insane”), crackpot. Compare typologically Russian чо́кнутый (čóknutyj). The correct English form is crazy, spelled C-R-A-Z-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of unsound mind; insane; demented.
  2. 2
    Out of control.
  3. 3
    Very excited or enthusiastic.
  4. 4
    In love; experiencing romantic feelings.
  5. 5
    Very unexpected; wildly surprising.
  6. 6
    Flawed or damaged; unsound, liable to break apart; ramshackle.
  7. 7
    Sickly, frail; diseased.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. His ideas were both frightening and crazy.
  2. Those words appearing to be merely the ravings of superannuation, they were not regarded; but when no other traces of Mary could be found, old Andrew went up to consult this crazy dame once more, but he was not able to bring any such thing to her recollection.

Etymology

From craze (“to crush”) + -y, akin to being "crazed up". Compare cracked up (“suffered a mental breakdown; be insane”), crackpot. Compare typologically Russian чо́кнутый (čóknutyj).

This word in other languages

loco(Español)fou(Français)verrückt(Deutsch)louco(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • carzy
  • ccrazy
  • crayz
  • crazyy
  • crazzy
  • crrazy
  • crzay
  • rcazy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of crazy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

carzy2ccrazy1crayz2crazyy1crazzy1crrazy1crzay2rcazy2
Edit distance from "crazy"

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 "crazy"?
"crazy" is spelled C-R-A-Z-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɹeɪ.zi/.
What does "crazy" mean?
As an adjective, "crazy" means: Of unsound mind; insane; demented.
What words are commonly confused with "crazy"?
"crazy" is commonly confused with "cry", "Cruz", "crony". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crazy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crazy" is /ˈkɹeɪ.zi/. 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 "crazy"?
From craze (“to crush”) + -y, akin to being "crazed up". Compare cracked up (“suffered a mental breakdown; be insane”), crackpot. Compare typologically Russian чо́кнутый (čóknutyj). 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 "crazy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

daily#899built#895began#894knows#906

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

figure8 variantsparts8 variantschoice8 variantsaren't8 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "crazy". Here's where to go from here.

  • "crazy" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "cry". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #898 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list