docile
/ˈdəʊ.saɪl/
"docile" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“docile” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,519. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #31,519
- frequency rank, English
- 26,416
- “D” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ready to accept instruction or direction; obedient; subservient.
Corpus desk
Index EN-docile · docile · English
docile · rank #31,519 · 8 variants · 9 confusables
- FREQ-MID #31,519
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 26,416
- PHOTO-FINISH divulge
Nearest frequency peer: divulge (-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 “docile”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- disprove
disprove
68,485 corpus weight
- divulge
divulge
68,483 corpus weight
- docile
docile
68,482 corpus weight
- doctrinal
doctrinal
68,481 corpus weight
- dogmatic
dogmatic
68,480 corpus weight
- Dominica
Dominica
68,479 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “docile” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | docile |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈdəʊ.saɪl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #31,519 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “docile” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around docile (IPA /ˈdəʊ.saɪl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #31,519 among 26,416 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for docile, with forms such as "dcoile", "ddocile", and "doccile". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "dole", "Doyle", "double", and more, 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 docyle, from Middle French docile, from Latin docilis, from docēre (“teach”). Compare Spanish dócil ("docile"). The correct English form is docile, spelled D-O-C-I-L-E.
Definition
- 1Ready to accept instruction or direction; obedient; subservient.
- 2Yielding to control or supervision, direction, or management.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how docile appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
With that he dropped his head again, lamenting over and caressing her, and there was not a sound in all the house for a long, long time; they remaining clasped in one another’s arms, in the glorious sunshine that had crept in with Florence. He dressed himself for going out, with a docile submission to her entreaty; and walking with a feeble gait, and look…
Harriet certainly was not clever, but she had a sweet, docile, grateful disposition; was totally free from conceit; and only desiring to be guided by any one she looked up to.
Etymology
From Middle English docyle, from Middle French docile, from Latin docilis, from docēre (“teach”). Compare Spanish dócil ("docile").
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- dcoile
- ddocile
- doccile
- dociel
- docille
- doclie
- doicle
- odcile
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of docile - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "docile", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).
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.