fussy
/ˈfʌ.si/
"fussy" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fussy” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,470. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #27,470
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 15
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Anxious or particular about petty details; hard to please.
Corpus desk
Index EN-fussy · fussy · English
fussy · rank #27,470 · 6 variants · 15 confusables
- FREQ-MID #27,470
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH fruitless
Nearest frequency peer: fruitless (-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 “fussy”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- forties
forties
72,534 corpus weight
- friar
friar
72,533 corpus weight
- fruitless
fruitless
72,532 corpus weight
- fussy
fussy
72,531 corpus weight
- garnish
garnish
72,529 corpus weight
- genealogical
genealogical
72,528 corpus weight
What this shows “fussy” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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 | fussy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈfʌ.si/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #27,470 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 15 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fussy”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around fussy (IPA /ˈfʌ.si/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #27,470 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for fussy, with forms such as "ffussy", "fsusy", and "fussyy". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "fuzzy", "fury", "fuse", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From fuss + -y. The correct English form is fussy, spelled F-U-S-S-Y.
Definition
- 1Anxious or particular about petty details; hard to please.
- 2Having a tendency to fuss, cry, or be bad-tempered/ill-tempered (especially of babies).
- 3Having much unnecessary detail or decoration.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how fussy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.
The internal decor of the SR-built Bulleid corridor stock was noticeably cleaner and less fussy than that of prewar coaches.
Etymology
From fuss + -y.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ffussy
- fsusy
- fussyy
- fusy
- fusys
- ufssy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fussy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fussy", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).