fateful
/ˈfeɪtfəl/
"fateful" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fateful” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,785 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #26,785
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Momentous, significant, setting or sealing one’s fate.
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 | fateful |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈfeɪtfəl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #26,785 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fateful” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for fateful is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfeɪtfəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,785 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for fateful, with forms such as "afteful", "faetful", and "fatefful". 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, "faithful", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From fate + -ful. The correct English form is fateful, spelled F-A-T-E-F-U-L.
Definition
- 1Momentous, significant, setting or sealing one’s fate.
- 2Determined in advance by fate, fated.
Etymology
From fate + -ful.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: afteful,faetful,fatefful,fateflu,fatefull,fateufl,fatfeul,fatteful,ffateful,ftaeful
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fateful - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "fateful"?
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Using “fateful”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-A-T-E-F-U-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfeɪtfəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “faithful” - see the side-by-side comparison. fateful vs faithful
- 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.