gentile

/ˈd͡ʒɛntaɪl/

//ˈd͡ʒɛntaɪl// adj

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

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

The verdict

“gentile” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,851. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,851
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Non-Jewish.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gentile · gentile · English

gentile · rank #27,851 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,851
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gallop

Nearest frequency peer: gallop (-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 “gentile”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “gentile” 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).

gentile vs gentle
86% similar
gentile vs gently
71% similar
gentile vs genuine
71% similar

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

Key facts for gentile
PropertyValue
Headwordgentile
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈd͡ʒɛntaɪl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#27,851
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gentile”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “gallop” (#27,850), “gentrification” (#27,852), “Gaia” (#27,849). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gentile” is #27,851. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around gentile (IPA /ˈd͡ʒɛntaɪl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #27,851 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for gentile, with forms such as "egntile", "genitle", and "genntile". 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, "gentle", "gently", "genuine", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French gentil (“gentile”), from Latin gentīlis (“of or belonging to the same people or nation”), morphologically from gēns (“clan; tribe; people, family”) + adjective suffix -īlis (“-ile”). Doublet of gentle, genteel, jaunty, and Gentoo. See a… The correct English form is gentile, spelled G-E-N-T-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Non-Jewish.
  2. 2
    Heathen, pagan.
  3. 3
    Non-Mormon.
  4. 4
    Relating to a clan, tribe, or nation; clannish, tribal, national.
  5. 5
    Of or pertaining to a gens or several gentes.
  6. 6
    Of a part of speech such as an adjective, noun or verb: relating to a particular city, nation or country.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This ſhall bring down the Judgment upon Rome, preſently after the Appearance of Antichriſt: and as upon Rome, ſo alſo upon all the Gentile Chriſtians, who have a Name to live but are dead, being fallen away from their Firſt Love and Faith, and ſo having made themſelves Veſſels fit for Deſtruction, when this ſore Judgment ſhall go forth.
  2. If we read the Epistles of St. Paul, we shall soon discover what efforts the Jewish converts made to bring the Gentile converts into the observance of every Jewish custom compatible with christianity:^([sic]) and as we do not discover in those Epistles any traces of a dispute on this head between the Jewish and Gentile converts, we may fairly conclude tha…

Etymology

Borrowed from French gentil (“gentile”), from Latin gentīlis (“of or belonging to the same people or nation”), morphologically from gēns (“clan; tribe; people, family”) + adjective suffix -īlis (“-ile”). Doublet of gentle, genteel, jaunty, and Gentoo. See also gens, gender, genus, and generation.

This word in other languages

gentil(Español)gentil(Français)nichtjüdisch(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • egntile
  • genitle
  • genntile
  • gentiel
  • gentille
  • gentlie
  • genttile
  • getnile
  • ggentile
  • gnetile

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

egntile2genitle2genntile1gentiel2gentille1gentlie2genttile1getnile2
Edit distance from "gentile"

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 "gentile"?
"gentile" is spelled G-E-N-T-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒɛntaɪl/.
What does "gentile" mean?
As an adjective, "gentile" means: Non-Jewish.
What words are commonly confused with "gentile"?
"gentile" is commonly confused with "gentle", "gently", "genuine". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gentile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gentile" is /ˈd͡ʒɛntaɪl/. 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 "gentile"?
Borrowed from French gentil (“gentile”), from Latin gentīlis (“of or belonging to the same people or nation”), morphologically from gēns (“clan; tribe; people, family”) + adjective suffix -īlis (“-ile”). Doublet of gentle, genteel, jaunty, and Gen... 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 "gentile", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

frosted#27,845gosling#27,857forbade#27,840halting#27,864

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

hallowed10 variantsflocks10 variantsflirty10 variantsHeywood10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list