errant
/ˈɛɹ(ə)nt/
"errant" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“errant” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,380. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #32,380
- frequency rank, English
- 2,246
- “E” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Straying from the proper course or standard, or outside established limits.
Corpus desk
Index EN-errant · errant · English
errant · rank #32,380 · 7 variants · 3 confusables
- FREQ-MID #32,380
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,246
- PHOTO-FINISH epics
Nearest frequency peer: epics (-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 “errant”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- ensue
ensue
67,624 corpus weight
- environs
environs
67,623 corpus weight
- epics
epics
67,622 corpus weight
- errant
errant
67,621 corpus weight
- esophagus
esophagus
67,620 corpus weight
- Estelle
Estelle
67,619 corpus weight
What this shows “errant” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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 | errant |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɛɹ(ə)nt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #32,380 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “errant”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around errant (IPA /ˈɛɹ(ə)nt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #32,380 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for errant, with forms such as "erant", "erarnt", and "errannt". 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, "extant", "errand", "entrant", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English erraunt [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman erraunt, from Old French errant, the present participle of errer (“to walk (to); to wander (to); (figuratively) to travel, voyage”), and then: * from Vulgar Latin iterāre (compare Late Latin i… The correct English form is errant, spelled E-R-R-A-N-T.
Definition
- 1Straying from the proper course or standard, or outside established limits.
- 2Roving around; wandering.
- 3Prone to erring or making errors; misbehaving.
- 4Obsolete form of arrant (“complete; downright, utter”).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how errant appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In that there are just seven Planets or errant Stars in the lower Orbs of heaven: but it is now demonstrable unto sense, that there are many more
They were all doomed to be disappointed, however, for the errant engine decided at Stanley junction to spend the remainder of its crowded hour of freedom on the Aberdeen line, and finally came to rest, short of breath, in the dip between Ballathie and Cargill, near the bridge over the Tay.
Etymology
From Middle English erraunt [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman erraunt, from Old French errant, the present participle of errer (“to walk (to); to wander (to); (figuratively) to travel, voyage”), and then: * from Vulgar Latin iterāre (compare Late Latin itinerāre, itinerāri (“to travel, voyage”)), from Latin iter (“a route (including a journey, trip; a course; a path; a road)”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- (“to go”); and * from Latin errantem, the accusative feminine or masculine singular of errāns (“straying, errant; wandering”), the present active participle of errō (“to rove, wander; to get lost, go astray; to err, wander from the truth”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- (“to flow”). Doublet of arrant.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- erant
- erarnt
- errannt
- errantt
- erratn
- errnat
- rerant
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of errant - 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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "errant", 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 (7 here; floor ≥5).