forgery

/ˈfɔː.dʒəɹ.ɪ/

//ˈfɔː.dʒəɹ.ɪ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“forgery” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,676. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,676
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of forging metal into shape.

Corpus desk

Index EN-forgery · forgery · English

forgery · rank #22,676 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,676
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH foggy

Nearest frequency peer: foggy (-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 “forgery”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “forgery” 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).

forgery vs former
71% similar
forgery vs forget
71% similar
forgery vs formerly
75% similar

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

Key facts for forgery
PropertyValue
Headwordforgery
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɔː.dʒəɹ.ɪ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#22,676
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “forgery”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “foggy” (#22,675), “Fremantle” (#22,677), “fielder” (#22,674). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “forgery” is #22,676. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around forgery (IPA /ˈfɔː.dʒəɹ.ɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,676 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for forgery, with forms such as "fforgery", "fogrery", and "foregry". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "former", "forget", "formerly", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded since 1574; from forge + -ery, from Middle English forgen, via Anglo-Norman forger, from Old French forgier, from Latin fabricārī (“to frame, construct, fabricate”), itself from fabrica (“workshop; construction”), from faber (“workman, smith”). (fa… The correct English form is forgery, spelled F-O-R-G-E-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of forging metal into shape.
  2. 2
    The act of forging, fabricating, or producing falsely; especially the crime of fraudulently making or altering a writing or signature purporting to be made by another, the false making or material alteration of or addition to a written instrument for the purpose of deceit and fraud.
  3. 3
    That which is forged, fabricated, falsely devised or counterfeited.
  4. 4
    An invention, creation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the forgery of horseshoes
  2. the forgery of a bond

Etymology

Recorded since 1574; from forge + -ery, from Middle English forgen, via Anglo-Norman forger, from Old French forgier, from Latin fabricārī (“to frame, construct, fabricate”), itself from fabrica (“workshop; construction”), from faber (“workman, smith”). (fake): Compare typologically Russian кова́рный (kovárnyj), кова́рство (kovárstvo), ко́зни (kózni) (akin to кова́ть (kovátʹ), ку́зница (kúznica)).

Synonyms

counterfeitfake

This word in other languages

falsificación(Español)forgeage(Français)Schmieden(Deutsch)falsificação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fforgery
  • fogrery
  • foregry
  • forgerry
  • forgeryy
  • forgeyr
  • forggery
  • forgrey
  • forrgery
  • frogery
  • ofrgery

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of forgery - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

fforgery1fogrery2foregry2forgerry1forgeryy1forgeyr2forggery1forgrey2
Edit distance from "forgery"

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 "forgery"?
"forgery" is spelled F-O-R-G-E-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɔː.dʒəɹ.ɪ/.
What does "forgery" mean?
As a noun, "forgery" means: The act of forging metal into shape.
What words are commonly confused with "forgery"?
"forgery" is commonly confused with "former", "forget", "formerly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "forgery"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "forgery" is /ˈfɔː.dʒəɹ.ɪ/. 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 "forgery"?
Recorded since 1574; from forge + -ery, from Middle English forgen, via Anglo-Norman forger, from Old French forgier, from Latin fabricārī (“to frame, construct, fabricate”), itself from fabrica (“workshop; construction”), from faber (“workman, sm... 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 "forgery", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

fielder#22,674gimmick#22,686enclave#22,660deprive#22,642

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

glossary11 variantsgrinning11 variantslifeboat11 variantsliturgy11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list