godless

/ˈɡɒdləs/

//ˈɡɒdləs// adj

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

The verdict

“godless” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,584 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#36,584
frequency rank, English
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not acknowledging any deity or god; without belief in any deity or god.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

godless vs gutless
71% similar
godless vs goodness
75% similar
godless vs goddess
86% similar

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

Key facts for godless
PropertyValue
Headwordgodless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɡɒdləs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#36,584
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “godless” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for godless is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɡɒdləs/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,584 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for godless, with forms such as "gdoless", "ggodless", and "goddless". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "gutless", "goodness", "goddess", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From god + -less. Compare Saterland Frisian godloos (“godless”), West Frisian goddeleas (“godless; wicked”), Dutch goddeloos (“godless; wicked”), German Low German gottlos (“godless”), German gottlos (“godless”), Danish gudløse (“godless”), Swedish gudlös (… The correct English form is godless, spelled G-O-D-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not acknowledging any deity or god; without belief in any deity or god.
  2. 2
    Evil, wicked, worldly.

Etymology

From god + -less. Compare Saterland Frisian godloos (“godless”), West Frisian goddeleas (“godless; wicked”), Dutch goddeloos (“godless; wicked”), German Low German gottlos (“godless”), German gottlos (“godless”), Danish gudløse (“godless”), Swedish gudlös (“godless; ungodly”), Icelandic guðlaus (“godless”), Gothic 𐌲𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌿𐍃 (gudalaus, “godless”).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: gdoless,ggodless,goddless,godelss,godles,godlless,godlses,goldess,ogdless

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of godless - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

gdoless2ggodless1goddless1godelss2godles1godlless1godlses2goldess2
Edit distance from "godless"

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 "godless"?
"godless" is spelled G-O-D-L-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɒdləs/.
What does "godless" mean?
As an adjective, "godless" means: Not acknowledging any deity or god; without belief in any deity or god.
What words are commonly confused with "godless"?
"godless" is commonly confused with "gutless", "goodness", "goddess". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "godless"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "godless" is /ˈɡɒdləs/. 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 "godless"?
From god + -less. Compare Saterland Frisian godloos (“godless”), West Frisian goddeleas (“godless; wicked”), Dutch goddeloos (“godless; wicked”), German Low German gottlos (“godless”), German gottlos (“godless”), Danish gudløse (“godless”), Swedis... 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.

Using “godless”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-O-D-L-E-S-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈɡɒdləs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “gutless” - see the side-by-side comparison. godless vs gutless
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list