gloom

/ɡluːm/

//ɡluːm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“gloom” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,352. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,352
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Darkness, dimness, or obscurity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gloom · gloom · English

gloom · rank #19,352 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,352
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH glaring

Nearest frequency peer: glaring (-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 “gloom”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “gloom” 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).

gloom vs goo
60% similar
gloom vs good
60% similar
gloom vs glow
60% similar

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

Key facts for gloom
PropertyValue
Headwordgloom
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡluːm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#19,352
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gloom”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).gloomlands 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 “glaring” (#19,351), “goblin” (#19,353), “Gunner” (#19,354). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gloom” is #19,352. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around gloom (IPA /ɡluːm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,352 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for gloom, with forms such as "ggloom", "glloom", and "glom". 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, "goo", "good", "glow", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English *gloom, *glom, from Old English glōm (“gloaming, twilight, darkness”), from Proto-West Germanic *glōm, from Proto-Germanic *glōmaz (“gleam, shimmer, sheen”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to gleam, shimmer, glow”). The English word … The correct English form is gloom, spelled G-L-O-O-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Darkness, dimness, or obscurity.
  2. 2
    A depressing, despondent, or melancholic atmosphere.
  3. 3
    Cloudiness or heaviness of mind; melancholy; aspect of sorrow; low spirits; dullness.
  4. 4
    A drying oven used in gunpowder manufacture.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the gloom of a forest, or of midnight
  2. Here was a surprise, and a sad one for me, for I perceived that I had slept away a day, and that the sun was setting for another night. And yet it mattered little, for night or daytime there was no light to help me in this horrible place; and though my eyes had grown accustomed to the gloom, I could make out nothing to show me where to work.

Etymology

From Middle English *gloom, *glom, from Old English glōm (“gloaming, twilight, darkness”), from Proto-West Germanic *glōm, from Proto-Germanic *glōmaz (“gleam, shimmer, sheen”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to gleam, shimmer, glow”). The English word is cognate with Norwegian glom (“transparent membrane”), Scots gloam (“twilight; faint light; dull gleam”).

This word in other languages

penumbra(Español)obscurité(Français)Düsternis(Deutsch)trevas(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggloom
  • glloom
  • glom
  • glomo
  • gloomm
  • golom
  • lgoom

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ggloom1glloom1glom1glomo2gloomm1golom2lgoom2
Edit distance from "gloom"

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 "gloom"?
"gloom" is spelled G-L-O-O-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡluːm/.
What does "gloom" mean?
As a noun, "gloom" means: Darkness, dimness, or obscurity.
What words are commonly confused with "gloom"?
"gloom" is commonly confused with "goo", "good", "glow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gloom"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gloom" is /ɡluːm/. 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 "gloom"?
From Middle English *gloom, *glom, from Old English glōm (“gloaming, twilight, darkness”), from Proto-West Germanic *glōm, from Proto-Germanic *glōmaz (“gleam, shimmer, sheen”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to gleam, shimmer, glow”). The Eng... 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 "gloom", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

garth#19,347heaps#19,357hydra#19,362kyrie#19,377

Similar misspelling depth

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

Gunner7 variantslimbo7 variantslousy7 variantsmammal7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list