empress

/ˈɛmpɹəs/

//ˈɛmpɹəs// noun

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

"empress" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“empress” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,013. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,013
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The female monarch (ruler) of an empire.

Corpus desk

Index EN-empress · empress · English

empress · rank #16,013 · 9 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,013
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH durability

Nearest frequency peer: durability (-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 “empress”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “empress” 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).

empress vs express
86% similar
empress vs espresso
75% similar
empress vs egress
71% similar

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

Key facts for empress
PropertyValue
Headwordempress
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɛmpɹəs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#16,013
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “empress”

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).empresslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “durability” (#16,012), “endeavour” (#16,014), “dorsal” (#16,011). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “empress” is #16,013. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around empress (IPA /ˈɛmpɹəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,013 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for empress, with forms such as "emmpress", "emperss", and "emppress". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "express", "espresso", "egress", 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 emperice, emperesse, from Anglo-Norman and Old French empereriz, from Latin imperatrix, equivalent to emperor + -ess. Doublet of imperatrix. Compare modern French impératrice. The correct English form is empress, spelled E-M-P-R-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The female monarch (ruler) of an empire.
  2. 2
    The wife or widow of an emperor or equated ruler.
  3. 3
    The third trump or major arcana card of most tarot decks.
  4. 4
    A female chimpanzee.
  5. 5
    A deciduous tree, Paulownia tomentosa
  6. 6
    A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the rook and the knight.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Sit downe by her: adorned with my Crowne, As if thou wert the Empreſſe of the world.
  2. Empress, imperial regent, and even emperor herself (r. 797–802), Irene was an important and powerful figure at the Byzantine court in the late eighth and early ninth century.

Etymology

From Middle English emperice, emperesse, from Anglo-Norman and Old French empereriz, from Latin imperatrix, equivalent to emperor + -ess. Doublet of imperatrix. Compare modern French impératrice.

This word in other languages

emperatriz(Español)impératrice(Français)Kaiserin(Deutsch)imperatriz(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emmpress
  • emperss
  • emppress
  • empres
  • emprress
  • emprses
  • emrpess
  • epmress
  • mepress

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

emmpress1emperss2emppress1empres1emprress1emprses2emrpess2epmress2
Edit distance from "empress"

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 "empress"?
"empress" is spelled E-M-P-R-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɛmpɹəs/.
What does "empress" mean?
As a noun, "empress" means: The female monarch (ruler) of an empire.
What words are commonly confused with "empress"?
"empress" is commonly confused with "express", "espresso", "egress". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "empress"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "empress" is /ˈɛmpɹəs/. 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 "empress"?
From Middle English emperice, emperesse, from Anglo-Norman and Old French empereriz, from Latin imperatrix, equivalent to emperor + -ess. Doublet of imperatrix. Compare modern French impératrice. 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 "empress", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

discord#16,006Farrell#16,022cunning#15,999cracker#15,995

Similar misspelling depth

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

dorsal9 variantsgadget9 variantsgreasy9 variantshideous9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list