entropy
/ˈɛntɹəpi/
"entropy" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“entropy” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #20,106 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #20,106
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A measure of the disorder present in a system.
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 | entropy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɛntɹəpi/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #20,106 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “entropy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for entropy is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛntɹəpi/. Corpus data places it at rank #20,106 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 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 entropy, with forms such as "enntropy", "enrtopy", and "entorpy". 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, "entry", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1867, as the translation of German Entropie, coined in 1865 by Rudolph Clausius in analogy to Energie (“energy”), replacing the root of Ancient Greek ἔργον (érgon, “work”) by Ancient Greek τροπή (tropḗ, “transformation”)). The correct English form is entropy, spelled E-N-T-R-O-P-Y.
Definition
- 1A measure of the disorder present in a system.
- 2A measure of the disorder present in a system.
- 3A measure of the amount of energy in a physical system that cannot be used to do work.
- 4The capacity factor for thermal energy that is hidden with respect to temperature.
- 5The dispersal of energy; how much energy is spread out in a process, or how widely spread out it becomes, at a specific temperature.
- 6A measure of the amount of information and noise present in a signal.
- 7The tendency of a system that is left to itself to descend into chaos.
Etymology
First attested in 1867, as the translation of German Entropie, coined in 1865 by Rudolph Clausius in analogy to Energie (“energy”), replacing the root of Ancient Greek ἔργον (érgon, “work”) by Ancient Greek τροπή (tropḗ, “transformation”)).
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: enntropy,enrtopy,entorpy,entroppy,entropyy,entroyp,entrpoy,entrropy,enttropy,etnropy,netropy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of entropy - 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “entropy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-N-T-R-O-P-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɛntɹəpi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “entry” - see the side-by-side comparison. entropy vs entry
- 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.