felony

/ˈfɛləni/

//ˈfɛləni// noun

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

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

The verdict

“felony” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,047. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,047
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A serious criminal offense, which, under United States federal law, is punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than one year or by the death penalty in the most serious offenses.

Corpus desk

Index EN-felony · felony · English

felony · rank #10,047 · 9 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,047
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fairness

Nearest frequency peer: fairness (-2 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 “felony”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “felony” 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).

felony vs Felton
50% similar
felony vs felon
83% similar
felony vs feline
67% similar

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

Key facts for felony
PropertyValue
Headwordfelony
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɛləni/
Letters6
Frequency rank#10,047
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “felony”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “fairness” (#10,045), “flint” (#10,049), “exploded” (#10,044). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “felony” is #10,047. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around felony (IPA /ˈfɛləni/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,047 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A serious criminal offense, which, under United States federal law, is punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than one year or by the death penalty in the most serious offenses.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for felony, with forms such as "eflony", "fellony", and "felnoy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Felton", "felon", "feline", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English felony, felonie, from Old French felonie (“evil, immoral deed”), from felon (“evildoer”). Ultimately of Proto-Germanic origin. More at felon. By surface analysis, felon + -y. The correct English form is felony, spelled F-E-L-O-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A serious criminal offense, which, under United States federal law, is punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than one year or by the death penalty in the most serious offenses.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There ſhall be in England, ſeuen halfe peny Loaues ſold for a peny: the three hoop'd pot, ſhall haue ten hoopes, and I vvill make it Fellony to drink ſmall Beere.
  2. First, as felony prosecutor, I prosecute high-level felonies including homicides; sexual assaults; child endangerings; shootings and other felonious assaults; and media cases.

Etymology

From Middle English felony, felonie, from Old French felonie (“evil, immoral deed”), from felon (“evildoer”). Ultimately of Proto-Germanic origin. More at felon. By surface analysis, felon + -y.

This word in other languages

crimen(Español)crime(Français)Verbrechen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eflony
  • fellony
  • felnoy
  • felonny
  • felonyy
  • feloyn
  • feolny
  • ffelony
  • fleony

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

eflony2fellony1felnoy2felonny1felonyy1feloyn2feolny2ffelony1
Edit distance from "felony"

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 "felony"?
"felony" is spelled F-E-L-O-N-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɛləni/.
What does "felony" mean?
As a noun, "felony" means: A serious criminal offense, which, under United States federal law, is punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than one year or by the death penalty in the most serious offenses.
What words are commonly confused with "felony"?
"felony" is commonly confused with "Felton", "felon", "feline". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "felony"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "felony" is /ˈfɛləni/. 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 "felony"?
From Middle English felony, felonie, from Old French felonie (“evil, immoral deed”), from felon (“evildoer”). Ultimately of Proto-Germanic origin. More at felon. By surface analysis, felon + -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 "felony", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

floral#10,050doomed#10,038cursed#10,028Connor#10,020

Similar misspelling depth

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

Hammond9 variantslenses9 variantsMaxwell9 variantsbusted9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list