glare

/ɡlɛɚ/

//ɡlɛɚ// noun

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

"glare" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“glare” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,088. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,088
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An intense, blinding light.

Corpus desk

Index EN-glare · glare · English

glare · rank #18,088 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,088
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH git

Nearest frequency peer: git (-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 “glare”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “glare” 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).

glare vs GRE
0% similar
glare vs glue
60% similar
glare vs gore
60% similar

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

Key facts for glare
PropertyValue
Headwordglare
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡlɛɚ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#18,088
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “glare”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).glarelands 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 “git” (#18,087), “Godzilla” (#18,089), “giggles” (#18,086). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “glare” is #18,088. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around glare (IPA /ɡlɛɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,088 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for glare, with forms such as "galre", "gglare", and "glaer". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "GRE", "glue", "gore", 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 glaren, from Old English *glærian, from Proto-West Germanic *glarōn. Cognate with dialectal Middle Dutch glariën (“to glisten; sparkle”), Low German glaren (“to shine brightly; glow; burn”), Middle High German glaren (“to shine brightly”… The correct English form is glare, spelled G-L-A-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An intense, blinding light.
  2. 2
    Showy brilliance; gaudiness.
  3. 3
    An angry or fierce stare.
  4. 4
    A call collision; the situation where an incoming call occurs at the same time as an outgoing call.
  5. 5
    A smooth, bright, glassy surface.
  6. 6
    A viscous, transparent substance; glair.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the frame of burnished steel that cast a glare
  2. About them round, / A lion now he stalks with fiery glare.

Etymology

From Middle English glaren, from Old English *glærian, from Proto-West Germanic *glarōn. Cognate with dialectal Middle Dutch glariën (“to glisten; sparkle”), Low German glaren (“to shine brightly; glow; burn”), Middle High German glaren (“to shine brightly”). Related to glower, glass.

This word in other languages

deslumbramiento(Español)éclat(Français)Blendung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • galre
  • gglare
  • glaer
  • glarre
  • gllare
  • glrae
  • lgare

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

galre2gglare1glaer2glarre1gllare1glrae2lgare2
Edit distance from "glare"

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 "glare"?
"glare" is spelled G-L-A-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡlɛɚ/.
What does "glare" mean?
As a noun, "glare" means: An intense, blinding light.
What words are commonly confused with "glare"?
"glare" is commonly confused with "GRE", "glue", "gore". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "glare"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "glare" is /ɡlɛɚ/. 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 "glare"?
From Middle English glaren, from Old English *glærian, from Proto-West Germanic *glarōn. Cognate with dialectal Middle Dutch glariën (“to glisten; sparkle”), Low German glaren (“to shine brightly; glow; burn”), Middle High German glaren (“to shine... 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 "glare", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hefty#18,096exert#18,073leaps#18,119Leroy#18,122

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

fodder7 variantscoils7 variantscarbs7 variantsBaird7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list