gruesome

/ˈɡɹuːsəm/

//ˈɡɹuːsəm// adj

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

"gruesome" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gruesome” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,371. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,371
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Repellently frightful and shocking; ghastly, horrific.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gruesome · gruesome · English

gruesome · rank #20,371 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,371
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gratification

Nearest frequency peer: gratification (-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 “gruesome”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “gruesome” 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
Key facts for gruesome
PropertyValue
Headwordgruesome
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɡɹuːsəm/
Letters8
Frequency rank#20,371
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gruesome”

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).gruesomelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “gratification” (#20,370), “granger” (#20,368), “grader” (#20,367). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gruesome” is #20,371. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around gruesome (IPA /ˈɡɹuːsəm/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #20,371 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for gruesome, with forms such as "ggruesome", "greusome", and "grruesome". 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. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From grue (“(archaic except Northern England, Scotland) to be frightened; to shudder with fear”) + -some (suffix meaning ‘characterized by some specific condition or quality, usually to a considerable degree’ forming adjectives and nouns), probably populari… The correct English form is gruesome, spelled G-R-U-E-S-O-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Repellently frightful and shocking; ghastly, horrific.
  2. 2
    Awful, terrible.
  3. 3
    Of a person: filled with fear; afraid, fearful.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He taks a ſvvirlie, auld moſs-oak, / For ſome black, grouſome Carlin; […]
  2. There's a wheen German horse doun at Glasgow yonder; they ca' their commander Wittybody, or some sic name, though he's as grave and grewsome an auld Dutchman as e'er I saw.

Etymology

From grue (“(archaic except Northern England, Scotland) to be frightened; to shudder with fear”) + -some (suffix meaning ‘characterized by some specific condition or quality, usually to a considerable degree’ forming adjectives and nouns), probably popularized by the Scottish novelist and poet Walter Scott (1771–1832): see, for example, the 1816 quotation. cognates * Danish grusom (“cruel; horrible”) * Middle Dutch grousaem, grusaem (modern Dutch gruwzaam (“cruel; gruesome”)) * Middle High German grûsam, grûwesam (modern German grausam (“cruel”)) * Norwegian Bokmål grusom (“cruel; horrible”)

This word in other languages

espantoso(Español)horrible(Français)grauenhaft(Deutsch)medonho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggruesome
  • greusome
  • grruesome
  • grueosme
  • gruesmoe
  • gruesoem
  • gruesomme
  • gruessome
  • gruseome
  • guresome
  • rguesome

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ggruesome1greusome2grruesome1grueosme2gruesmoe2gruesoem2gruesomme1gruessome1
Edit distance from "gruesome"

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 "gruesome"?
"gruesome" is spelled G-R-U-E-S-O-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɹuːsəm/.
What does "gruesome" mean?
As an adjective, "gruesome" means: Repellently frightful and shocking; ghastly, horrific.
What are common misspellings of "gruesome"?
Common misspellings include "ggruesome", "greusome", "grruesome", "grueosme", "gruesmoe". The correct spelling is "gruesome".
How do you pronounce "gruesome"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gruesome" is /ˈɡɹuːsəm/. 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 "gruesome"?
From grue (“(archaic except Northern England, Scotland) to be frightened; to shudder with fear”) + -some (suffix meaning ‘characterized by some specific condition or quality, usually to a considerable degree’ forming adjectives and nouns), probabl... 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 "gruesome", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Hinduism#20,380Holloway#20,384fixation#20,357hydrated#20,386

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

granger11 variantsGenders11 variantsflushed11 variantsflanked11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list