criminals

/ˈkɹɪmɪnəlz/

//ˈkɹɪmɪnəlz// noun

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

"criminals" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“criminals” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,590. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,590
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of criminal

Corpus desk

Index EN-criminals · criminals · English

criminals · rank #5,590 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,590
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH costa

Nearest frequency peer: costa (-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 “criminals”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “criminals” 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).

criminals vs criminal
89% similar
criminals vs criminally
80% similar

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

Key facts for criminals
PropertyValue
Headwordcriminals
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɹɪmɪnəlz/
Letters9
Frequency rank#5,590
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “criminals”

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).criminalslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “costa” (#5,589), “crop” (#5,591), “convenient” (#5,588). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “criminals” is #5,590. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around criminals (IPA /ˈkɹɪmɪnəlz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,590 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "plural of criminal".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for criminals, with forms such as "ccriminals", "cirminals", and "criimnals". 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, "criminal", "criminally", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is criminals, spelled C-R-I-M-I-N-A-L-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of criminal

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccriminals
  • cirminals
  • criimnals
  • crimianls
  • criminalls
  • criminalss
  • criminasl
  • criminlas
  • criminnals
  • crimminals
  • crimnials
  • crmiinals
  • crriminals
  • rciminals

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccriminals1cirminals2criimnals2crimianls2criminalls1criminalss1criminasl2criminlas2
Edit distance from "criminals"

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 "criminals"?
"criminals" is spelled C-R-I-M-I-N-A-L-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɹɪmɪnəlz/.
What does "criminals" mean?
As a noun, "criminals" means: plural of criminal
What words are commonly confused with "criminals"?
"criminals" is commonly confused with "criminal", "criminally". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "criminals"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "criminals" is /ˈkɹɪmɪnəlz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "criminals" come from?
"criminals" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "criminals", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

eliminate#5,594classroom#5,584incidents#5,602believing#5,576

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

earthquake14 variantsstrictly14 variantsscreening14 variantssuspected14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list