faeces

noun

"faeces" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“faeces” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #41,118 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#41,118
frequency rank, English
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Alternative spelling of feces.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

faeces vs fees
67% similar
faeces vs fares
67% similar
faeces vs farce
67% similar

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

Key facts for faeces
PropertyValue
Headwordfaeces
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Frequency rank#41,118
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “faeces” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). faeces lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for faeces is 6 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #41,118 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Alternative spelling of feces.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for faeces, with forms such as "afeces", "facees", and "faecces". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fees", "fares", "farce", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is faeces, spelled F-A-E-C-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative spelling of feces.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: afeces,facees,faecces,faecess,faecse,faeecs,feaces,ffaeces

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

afeces2facees2faecces1faecess1faecse2faeecs2feaces2ffaeces1
Edit distance from "faeces"

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 "faeces"?
"faeces" is spelled F-A-E-C-E-S.
What does "faeces" mean?
As a noun, "faeces" means: Alternative spelling of feces.
What words are commonly confused with "faeces"?
"faeces" is commonly confused with "fees", "fares", "farce". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "faeces" come from?
"faeces" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “faeces”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-A-E-C-E-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “fees” - see the side-by-side comparison. faeces vs fees
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list