crony

/ˈkɹoʊni/

//ˈkɹoʊni// noun

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

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

The verdict

“crony” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,192. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,192
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A close friend.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crony · crony · English

crony · rank #40,192 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,192
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH creepers

Nearest frequency peer: creepers (-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 “crony”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “crony” 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).

crony vs cry
60% similar
crony vs crop
60% similar
crony vs crow
60% similar

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

Key facts for crony
PropertyValue
Headwordcrony
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɹoʊni/
Letters5
Frequency rank#40,192
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “crony”

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).cronylands 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 “creepers” (#40,191), “cru” (#40,193), “cryptographic” (#40,194). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crony” is #40,192. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around crony (IPA /ˈkɹoʊni/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #40,192 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for crony, with forms such as "ccrony", "crnoy", and "cronny". 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", "crop", "crow", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Coined between 1655 and 1665 from Ancient Greek χρόνιος (khrónios, “perennial, long-lasting”); see also chrono- (“time”). Initially Cambridge University slang, in sense of “chum”, as “friend of long standing”, with illegal connotation later. Early spellings… The correct English form is crony, spelled C-R-O-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A close friend.
  2. 2
    A trusted companion or partner in a criminal organization.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Rip now resumed his old walks and habits; he soon found many of his former cronies, though all rather the worse for the wear and tear of time; and preferred making friends among the rising generation, with whom he soon grew into great favour.

Etymology

Coined between 1655 and 1665 from Ancient Greek χρόνιος (khrónios, “perennial, long-lasting”); see also chrono- (“time”). Initially Cambridge University slang, in sense of “chum”, as “friend of long standing”, with illegal connotation later. Early spellings included chrony, as in 1665 diary by Samuel Pepys, supporting the Greek origin.

This word in other languages

amigote(Español)copain(Français)Freund(Deutsch)parceiro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrony
  • crnoy
  • cronny
  • cronyy
  • croyn
  • crrony
  • rcony

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccrony1crnoy2cronny1cronyy1croyn2crrony1rcony2
Edit distance from "crony"

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 "crony"?
"crony" is spelled C-R-O-N-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɹoʊni/.
What does "crony" mean?
As a noun, "crony" means: A close friend.
What words are commonly confused with "crony"?
"crony" is commonly confused with "cry", "crop", "crow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crony"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crony" is /ˈkɹoʊni/. 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 "crony"?
Coined between 1655 and 1665 from Ancient Greek χρόνιος (khrónios, “perennial, long-lasting”); see also chrono- (“time”). Initially Cambridge University slang, in sense of “chum”, as “friend of long standing”, with illegal connotation later. Early... 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 "crony", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Dicky#40,212dumbo#40,223Efron#40,226bough#40,156

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Cooney7 variantsduffel7 variantsfeller7 variantsbeeps7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list