fibrous

/ˈfaɪbɹəs/

//ˈfaɪbɹəs// adj

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

"fibrous" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fibrous” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,175. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,175
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or pertaining to fibre.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fibrous · fibrous · English

fibrous · rank #31,175 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,175
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH FGM

Nearest frequency peer: FGM (-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 “fibrous”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “fibrous” 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).

fibrous vs ferrous
71% similar
fibrous vs fibrosis
75% similar

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

Key facts for fibrous
PropertyValue
Headwordfibrous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈfaɪbɹəs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#31,175
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fibrous”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).fibrouslands 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 “FGM” (#31,174), “fiddling” (#31,176), “federated” (#31,173). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fibrous” is #31,175. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around fibrous (IPA /ˈfaɪbɹəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #31,175 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for fibrous, with forms such as "fbirous", "ffibrous", and "fibbrous". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "ferrous", "fibrosis", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From fibre + -ous. The correct English form is fibrous, spelled F-I-B-R-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to fibre.
  2. 2
    Containing many fibres - referring mainly to food.
  3. 3
    Having the shape of fibres.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The black kurrajong has a fibrous bark that Aboriginal artefact-makers used as a raw material to make string for their lines and carry-bags.
  2. The prisoners sat in the sand among old rusted tins and bits of charcoal with their hands still manacled before them and the guards set out an old blue graniteware coffeepot and a stewpot of the sme material and they drank coffee and ate a dish containing some kind of pale and fibrous tuber, some kind of meat, some kind of fowl.

Etymology

From fibre + -ous.

This word in other languages

fibroso(Español)fibreux(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fbirous
  • ffibrous
  • fibbrous
  • fiborus
  • fibrosu
  • fibrouss
  • fibrrous
  • fibruos
  • firbous
  • ifbrous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fibrous - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

fbirous2ffibrous1fibbrous1fiborus2fibrosu2fibrouss1fibrrous1fibruos2
Edit distance from "fibrous"

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 "fibrous"?
"fibrous" is spelled F-I-B-R-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfaɪbɹəs/.
What does "fibrous" mean?
As an adjective, "fibrous" means: Of or pertaining to fibre.
What words are commonly confused with "fibrous"?
"fibrous" is commonly confused with "ferrous", "fibrosis". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fibrous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fibrous" is /ˈfaɪbɹəs/. 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 "fibrous"?
From fibre + -ous. 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 "fibrous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Fayette#31,172fixated#31,178entrant#31,160haggard#31,198

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Doritos10 variantsDonegal10 variantscreeper10 variantsKampala10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list