enormous
/ɪˈnɔː.məs/
"enormous" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“enormous” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,669 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #4,669
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Deviating from the norm; unusual, extraordinary.
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 | enormous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪˈnɔː.məs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #4,669 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “enormous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for enormous is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪˈnɔː.məs/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,669 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for enormous, with forms such as "ennormous", "enomrous", and "enormmous". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "enormously", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin ēnormis. An assimilated form of ex- (“out of”) + norma (“rule, norm”) + -ous. The correct English form is enormous, spelled E-N-O-R-M-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Deviating from the norm; unusual, extraordinary.
- 2Exceedingly wicked; atrocious or outrageous.
- 3Extremely large; greatly exceeding the common size, extent, etc.
Etymology
From Latin ēnormis. An assimilated form of ex- (“out of”) + norma (“rule, norm”) + -ous.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ennormous,enomrous,enormmous,enormosu,enormouss,enormuos,enoromus,enorrmous,enromous,eonrmous,neormous
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of enormous - 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.
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 "enormous"?
What does "enormous" mean?
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Using “enormous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-N-O-R-M-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪˈnɔː.məs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “enormously” - see the side-by-side comparison. enormous vs enormously
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.