feral

/ˈfɛɹ.əl/

//ˈfɛɹ.əl// adj

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

"feral" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“feral” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,837. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,837
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Wild; untamed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-feral · feral · English

feral · rank #19,837 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,837
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fay

Nearest frequency peer: fay (-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 “feral”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “feral” 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).

feral vs fra
60% similar
feral vs Fran
40% similar
feral vs fray
60% similar

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

Key facts for feral
PropertyValue
Headwordferal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈfɛɹ.əl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#19,837
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “feral”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).ferallands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “fay” (#19,836), “flips” (#19,838), “ey” (#19,835). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “feral” is #19,837. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around feral (IPA /ˈfɛɹ.əl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #19,837 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for feral, with forms such as "efral", "fearl", and "ferall". 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, "fra", "Fran", "fray", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin fera (“wild beast”, noun) + -al or Latin ferus (“wild; savage; cruel”, adjective) + -al. Alternatively, borrowed from Middle French féral or Late Latin ferālis. The correct English form is feral, spelled F-E-R-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Wild; untamed.
  2. 2
    Wild; untamed.
  3. 3
    Wild; untamed.
  4. 4
    Wild; untamed.
  5. 5
    Wild; untamed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 1876 Statistical, Descriptive, And Historical Account Of The North-Western Provinces Of India. Allahabad: North-Western Provinces' Government Press 1876. p XIV, Agra Division The spotted deer, in a truly feral state, has very much the same distribution in Bundelkhand as the sambar, but it is more numerous.
  2. Among the ensemble’s strange, outmoded, “original” instruments — the feral horns, sour violins, wooden flutes, cellos without endpins — she seemed right at home, despite her Broadway provenance.

Etymology

From Latin fera (“wild beast”, noun) + -al or Latin ferus (“wild; savage; cruel”, adjective) + -al. Alternatively, borrowed from Middle French féral or Late Latin ferālis.

This word in other languages

ferino(Español)féral(Français)wild(Deutsch)silvestre(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • efral
  • fearl
  • ferall
  • ferla
  • ferral
  • fferal
  • freal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

efral2fearl2ferall1ferla2ferral1fferal1freal2
Edit distance from "feral"

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 "feral"?
"feral" is spelled F-E-R-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɛɹ.əl/.
What does "feral" mean?
As an adjective, "feral" means: Wild; untamed.
What words are commonly confused with "feral"?
"feral" is commonly confused with "fra", "Fran", "fray". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "feral"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "feral" is /ˈfɛɹ.əl/. 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 "feral"?
From Latin fera (“wild beast”, noun) + -al or Latin ferus (“wild; savage; cruel”, adjective) + -al. Alternatively, borrowed from Middle French féral or Late Latin ferālis. 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 "feral", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

flips#19,838hasty#19,854husky#19,860detox#19,812

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

laced7 variantslipid7 variantsLouisa7 variantsCesar7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list