gaiety

/ˈɡeɪ.ə.ti/

//ˈɡeɪ.ə.ti// noun

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

"gaiety" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gaiety” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #48,760. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#48,760
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being happy or merry.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gaiety · gaiety · English

gaiety · rank #48,760 · 8 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #48,760
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gaffer

Nearest frequency peer: gaffer (-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 “gaiety”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “gaiety” 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).

gaiety vs gait
67% similar
gaiety vs guilty
67% similar
gaiety vs Gareth
50% similar

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

Key facts for gaiety
PropertyValue
Headwordgaiety
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡeɪ.ə.ti/
Letters6
Frequency rank#48,760
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gaiety”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).gaietylands 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 “gaffer” (#48,759), “galleon” (#48,761), “furrow” (#48,758). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gaiety” is #48,760. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around gaiety (IPA /ˈɡeɪ.ə.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #48,760 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for gaiety, with forms such as "agiety", "gaeity", and "gaietty". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "gait", "guilty", "Gareth", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French gaieté, from gai. By surface analysis, gay + -ety. The correct English form is gaiety, spelled G-A-I-E-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being happy or merry.
  2. 2
    Merrymaking or festivity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There was much gaiety at the ball.
  2. The decorations added greatly to the gaiety of the room.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French gaieté, from gai. By surface analysis, gay + -ety.

Synonyms

gayness

This word in other languages

felicidad(Español)Frohsinn(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • agiety
  • gaeity
  • gaietty
  • gaietyy
  • gaieyt
  • gaitey
  • ggaiety
  • giaety

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gaiety - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

agiety2gaeity2gaietty1gaietyy1gaieyt2gaitey2ggaiety1giaety2
Edit distance from "gaiety"

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 "gaiety"?
"gaiety" is spelled G-A-I-E-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡeɪ.ə.ti/.
What does "gaiety" mean?
As a noun, "gaiety" means: The state of being happy or merry.
What words are commonly confused with "gaiety"?
"gaiety" is commonly confused with "gait", "guilty", "Gareth". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gaiety"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gaiety" is /ˈɡeɪ.ə.ti/. 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 "gaiety"?
Borrowed from Middle French gaieté, from gai. By surface analysis, gay + -ety. 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 "gaiety", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gaffer#48,759furrow#48,758giveth#48,771Feeney#48,742

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

galleon8 variantsfleck8 variantsFabius8 variantsHeaney8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list