faulty

/ˈfɒlti/

//ˈfɒlti// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“faulty” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,596. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,596
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having or displaying faults; not perfect; not adequate or acceptable.

Corpus desk

Index EN-faulty · faulty · English

faulty · rank #12,596 · 9 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,596
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fantasies

Nearest frequency peer: fantasies (-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 “faulty”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “faulty” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

faulty vs fully
67% similar
faulty vs Faust
50% similar
faulty vs fruity
67% similar

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

Key facts for faulty
PropertyValue
Headwordfaulty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈfɒlti/
Letters6
Frequency rank#12,596
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “faulty”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “fantasies” (#12,595), “fertile” (#12,597), “everybody's” (#12,594). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “faulty” is #12,596. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around faulty (IPA /ˈfɒlti/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #12,596 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for faulty, with forms such as "afulty", "faluty", and "faullty". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "fully", "Faust", "fruity", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From fault + -y. The correct English form is faulty, spelled F-A-U-L-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having or displaying faults; not perfect; not adequate or acceptable.
  2. 2
    At fault, to blame; guilty.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how faulty appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. They replaced the faulty wiring and it has worked fine ever since.
  2. I don't think you can infer that from the premise. It's a faulty argument.

Etymology

From fault + -y.

Antonyms

faultless

This word in other languages

defectuoso(Español)défectueux(Français)fehlerhaft(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afulty
  • faluty
  • faullty
  • faultty
  • faultyy
  • faulyt
  • fautly
  • ffaulty
  • fualty

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

afulty2faluty2faullty1faultty1faultyy1faulyt2fautly2ffaulty1
Edit distance from "faulty"

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 "faulty"?
"faulty" is spelled F-A-U-L-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɒlti/.
What does "faulty" mean?
As an adjective, "faulty" means: Having or displaying faults; not perfect; not adequate or acceptable.
What words are commonly confused with "faulty"?
"faulty" is commonly confused with "fully", "Faust", "fruity". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "faulty"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "faulty" is /ˈfɒlti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "faulty"?
From fault + -y. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "faulty", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Esther#12,593donkey#12,581gluten#12,611humane#12,619

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

labelled9 variantslawful9 variantsLord's9 variantsbombed9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list