critic

/ˈkɹɪt.ɪk/

//ˈkɹɪt.ɪk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“critic” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,670. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,670
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who appraises the works of others.

Corpus desk

Index EN-critic · critic · English

critic · rank #7,670 · 9 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,670
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cousins

Nearest frequency peer: cousins (-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 “critic”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “critic” 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).

critic vs cystic
67% similar
critic vs cryptic
71% similar
critic vs critical
75% similar

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

Key facts for critic
PropertyValue
Headwordcritic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɹɪt.ɪk/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,670
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “critic”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).criticlands 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 “cousins” (#7,669), “Czech” (#7,671), “cough” (#7,668). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “critic” is #7,670. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around critic (IPA /ˈkɹɪt.ɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,670 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for critic, with forms such as "ccritic", "cirtic", and "criitc". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "cystic", "cryptic", "critical", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French critique, from Latin criticus, from Ancient Greek κριτικός (kritikós, “of or for judging, able to discern”), from κρίνω (krínō, “I judge”). The correct English form is critic, spelled C-R-I-T-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who appraises the works of others.
  2. 2
    A specialist in judging works of art.
  3. 3
    One who criticizes; a person who finds fault.
  4. 4
    An opponent.
  5. 5
    Obsolete form of critique (“an act of criticism”).
  6. 6
    Obsolete form of critique (“the art of criticism”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Following its publication, the novel received widespread acclaim from literary critics.
  2. The opinion of the most skilful critics was, that nothing finer [than Goldsmith's Traveller] had appeared in verse since the fourth book of the Dunciad.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French critique, from Latin criticus, from Ancient Greek κριτικός (kritikós, “of or for judging, able to discern”), from κρίνω (krínō, “I judge”).

This word in other languages

crítico(Español)critique(Français)Kritiker(Deutsch)crítico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccritic
  • cirtic
  • criitc
  • critci
  • criticc
  • crittic
  • crritic
  • crtiic
  • rcitic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccritic1cirtic2criitc2critci2criticc1crittic1crritic1crtiic2
Edit distance from "critic"

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 "critic"?
"critic" is spelled C-R-I-T-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɹɪt.ɪk/.
What does "critic" mean?
As a noun, "critic" means: A person who appraises the works of others.
What words are commonly confused with "critic"?
"critic" is commonly confused with "cystic", "cryptic", "critical". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "critic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "critic" is /ˈkɹɪt.ɪk/. 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 "critic"?
Borrowed from Middle French critique, from Latin criticus, from Ancient Greek κριτικός (kritikós, “of or for judging, able to discern”), from κρίνω (krínō, “I judge”). 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 "critic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

doubts#7,677builds#7,656binary#7,652ballet#7,650

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

execute9 variantsherald9 variantsabsurd9 variantsviable9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list