forsake
/fɔːˈseɪk/
"forsake" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“forsake” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,404. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #32,404
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something).
Corpus desk
Index EN-forsake · forsake · English
forsake · rank #32,404 · 10 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-MID #32,404
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-MID 10 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH fluently
Nearest frequency peer: fluently (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “forsake”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- flatly
flatly
67,601 corpus weight
- flicked
flicked
67,600 corpus weight
- flocked
flocked
67,599 corpus weight
- fluently
fluently
67,598 corpus weight
- forsake
forsake
67,597 corpus weight
- fusing
fusing
67,596 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “forsake” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | forsake |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /fɔːˈseɪk/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #32,404 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “forsake” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around forsake (IPA /fɔːˈseɪk/), averb. Corpus frequency is #32,404 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for forsake, with forms such as "fforsake", "foraske", and "forrsake". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "forsaken", "forage", "forgave", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English forsaken (“to abandon, desert, repudiate, withdraw allegiance from; to deny, reject, shun; to betray; to divorce (a spouse); to disown; to be false to (one's nature, vows, etc.); to give up, renounce, surrender; to discard; to omit; to d… The correct English form is forsake, spelled F-O-R-S-A-K-E.
Definition
- 1To abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something).
- 2To decline or refuse (something offered).
- 3To avoid or shun (someone or something).
- 4To cause disappointment to; to be insufficient for (someone or something).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how forsake appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Doeſt thou forſake the deuill and all his workes? / Aunſwere. I forſake them.
Such hazard now muſt doting Tarqvin make, / Pawning his honor to obtaine his luſt, / And for himſelfe, himſelfe he muſt forſake.
Etymology
From Middle English forsaken (“to abandon, desert, repudiate, withdraw allegiance from; to deny, reject, shun; to betray; to divorce (a spouse); to disown; to be false to (one's nature, vows, etc.); to give up, renounce, surrender; to discard; to omit; to decline, refuse, reject; to avoid, escape; to cease, desist; to evade, neglect; to contradict, refute; to depart, leave; to become detached, separate”) [and other forms], from Old English forsacan (“to oppose; to give up, renounce; to decline, refuse”), from Proto-West Germanic *frasakan (“to forsake, renounce”), from Proto-Germanic *fra- (prefix meaning ‘away, off’) + *sakaną (“to charge; to dispute”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to seek out”)). The English word can be analysed as for- + sake, and is cognate with Saterland Frisian ferseeke (“to deny, refuse”), West Frisian fersaakje, Dutch verzaken (“to renounce, forsake”), Middle High German versachen (“to deny”), Danish forsage (“to give up”), Swedish försaka (“to be without, give up”), Norwegian forsake (“to give up, renounce”), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌺𐌰𐌽 (sakan, “to quarrel; to rebuke”), .
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- fforsake
- foraske
- forrsake
- forsaek
- forsakke
- forskae
- forssake
- fosrake
- frosake
- ofrsake
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of forsake - 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.
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 "forsake"?
What does "forsake" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "forsake"?
How do you pronounce "forsake"?
What is the origin of the word "forsake"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "forsake", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "forsake". Here's where to go from here.
- "forsake" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "forsaken". View pair
- 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #32,404 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "F" letter cohort. F–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.