culpable

/ˈkʌlpəbəl/

//ˈkʌlpəbəl// adj

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

"culpable" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“culpable” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,193. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,193
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Meriting condemnation, censure or blame, especially as something wrong, harmful or injurious; blameworthy, guilty.

Corpus desk

Index EN-culpable · culpable · English

culpable · rank #33,193 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,193
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crosse

Nearest frequency peer: crosse (-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 “culpable”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “culpable” 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).

culpable vs curable
75% similar
culpable vs capable
75% similar

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

Key facts for culpable
PropertyValue
Headwordculpable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈkʌlpəbəl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#33,193
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “culpable”

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).culpablelands 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 “crosse” (#33,192), “dag” (#33,194), “damsel” (#33,195). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “culpable” is #33,193. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around culpable (IPA /ˈkʌlpəbəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #33,193 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Meriting condemnation, censure or blame, especially as something wrong, harmful or injurious; blameworthy, guilty.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for culpable, with forms such as "cculpable", "clupable", and "culapble". 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, "curable", "capable", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English culpable, from Old French culpable, from Latin culpābilis (“blameworthy”), from culpō (“to blame, condemn”), from culpa (“a fault, crime, mistake”). Compare also culprit. The correct English form is culpable, spelled C-U-L-P-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Meriting condemnation, censure or blame, especially as something wrong, harmful or injurious; blameworthy, guilty.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. I am culpable for stealing your money.

Etymology

From Middle English culpable, from Old French culpable, from Latin culpābilis (“blameworthy”), from culpō (“to blame, condemn”), from culpa (“a fault, crime, mistake”). Compare also culprit.

This word in other languages

culpable(Español)coupable(Français)verdammenswert(Deutsch)culpável(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cculpable
  • clupable
  • culapble
  • cullpable
  • culpabble
  • culpabel
  • culpablle
  • culpalbe
  • culpbale
  • culpible
  • culppable
  • cuplable
  • uclpable

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

cculpable1clupable2culapble2cullpable1culpabble1culpabel2culpablle1culpalbe2
Edit distance from "culpable"

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 "culpable"?
"culpable" is spelled C-U-L-P-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʌlpəbəl/.
What does "culpable" mean?
As an adjective, "culpable" means: Meriting condemnation, censure or blame, especially as something wrong, harmful or injurious; blameworthy, guilty.
What words are commonly confused with "culpable"?
"culpable" is commonly confused with "curable", "capable". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "culpable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "culpable" is /ˈkʌlpəbəl/. 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 "culpable"?
From Middle English culpable, from Old French culpable, from Latin culpābilis (“blameworthy”), from culpō (“to blame, condemn”), from culpa (“a fault, crime, mistake”). Compare also culprit. 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 "culpable", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

concedes#33,184diocesan#33,203cilantro#33,175Ebenezer#33,218

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

douchebag13 variantsEuphrates13 variantsfabricate13 variantsblackman13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list