frailty

/ˈfɹeɪlti/

//ˈfɹeɪlti// noun

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

The verdict

“frailty” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,133. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,133
frequency rank, English
18,613
“F” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The condition quality of being frail, physically, mentally, or morally; weakness of resolution; liability to be deceived.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

frailty vs fruity
71% similar
frailty vs frail
71% similar
frailty vs faulty
71% similar

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

Key facts for frailty
PropertyValue
Headwordfrailty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɹeɪlti/
Letters7
Frequency rank#41,133
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “frailty” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around frailty (IPA /ˈfɹeɪlti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #41,133 among 18,613 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for frailty, with forms such as "farilty", "ffrailty", and "fraillty". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "fruity", "frail", "faulty", 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 frelete, frailte, from Old French fraileté, from Latin fragilitās. By surface analysis, frail + -ty. Doublet of fragility. The correct English form is frailty, spelled F-R-A-I-L-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The condition quality of being frail, physically, mentally, or morally; weakness of resolution; liability to be deceived.
  2. 2
    A fault proceeding from weakness; foible; sin of infirmity.

Etymology

From Middle English frelete, frailte, from Old French fraileté, from Latin fragilitās. By surface analysis, frail + -ty. Doublet of fragility.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • farilty
  • ffrailty
  • fraillty
  • frailtty
  • frailtyy
  • frailyt
  • fraitly
  • frality
  • frialty
  • frrailty
  • rfailty

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of frailty - 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.

farilty2ffrailty1fraillty1frailtty1frailtyy1frailyt2fraitly2frality2
Edit distance from "frailty"

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 "frailty"?
"frailty" is spelled F-R-A-I-L-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɹeɪlti/.
What does "frailty" mean?
As a noun, "frailty" means: The condition quality of being frail, physically, mentally, or morally; weakness of resolution; liability to be deceived.
What words are commonly confused with "frailty"?
"frailty" is commonly confused with "fruity", "frail", "faulty". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "frailty"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "frailty" is /ˈfɹeɪlti/. 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 "frailty"?
From Middle English frelete, frailte, from Old French fraileté, from Latin fragilitās. By surface analysis, frail + -ty. Doublet of fragility. 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.

Using “frailty”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-R-A-I-L-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈfɹeɪlti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “fruity” - see the side-by-side comparison. frailty vs fruity
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list