harmless

/ˈhɑːmləs/

//ˈhɑːmləs// adj

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

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

The verdict

“harmless” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,757. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,757
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe.

Corpus desk

Index EN-harmless · harmless · English

harmless · rank #9,757 · 11 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,757
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hesitate

Nearest frequency peer: hesitate (+2 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 “harmless”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “harmless” 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).

harmless vs harness
75% similar
harmless vs heartless
78% similar
harmless vs hapless
75% similar

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

Key facts for harmless
PropertyValue
Headwordharmless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈhɑːmləs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#9,757
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “harmless”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).harmlesslands 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 “hesitate” (#9,759), “hid” (#9,760), “goalkeeper” (#9,753). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “harmless” is #9,757. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around harmless (IPA /ˈhɑːmləs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #9,757 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for harmless, with forms such as "ahrmless", "hamrless", and "harlmess". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "harness", "heartless", "hapless", 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 harmles, from Old English *hearmlēas, from Proto-Germanic *harmalausaz (“without harm; harmless”), equivalent to harm + -less. Cognate with German harmlos (“harmless”), Danish harmløs (“harlmess”), Swedish harmlös (“harmless”). The correct English form is harmless, spelled H-A-R-M-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe.
  2. 2
    Not intended to harm; inoffensive.
  3. 3
    Unharmed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonyms: benign, innocuous, innocent, undamaging, nonthreatening, unthreatening
  2. This snake looks nearly the same as its poisonous cousin but is harmless.

Etymology

From Middle English harmles, from Old English *hearmlēas, from Proto-Germanic *harmalausaz (“without harm; harmless”), equivalent to harm + -less. Cognate with German harmlos (“harmless”), Danish harmløs (“harlmess”), Swedish harmlös (“harmless”).

This word in other languages

inocuo(Español)inoffensif(Français)harmlos(Deutsch)inofensivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ahrmless
  • hamrless
  • harlmess
  • harmelss
  • harmles
  • harmlless
  • harmlses
  • harmmless
  • harrmless
  • hharmless
  • hramless

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ahrmless2hamrless2harlmess2harmelss2harmles1harmlless1harmlses2harmmless1
Edit distance from "harmless"

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 "harmless"?
"harmless" is spelled H-A-R-M-L-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɑːmləs/.
What does "harmless" mean?
As an adjective, "harmless" means: Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe.
What words are commonly confused with "harmless"?
"harmless" is commonly confused with "harness", "heartless", "hapless". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "harmless"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "harmless" is /ˈhɑːmləs/. 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 "harmless"?
From Middle English harmles, from Old English *hearmlēas, from Proto-Germanic *harmalausaz (“without harm; harmless”), equivalent to harm + -less. Cognate with German harmlos (“harmless”), Danish harmløs (“harlmess”), Swedish harmlös (“harmless”). 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 "harmless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

hesitate#9,759enforced#9,743Johnston#9,773mechanic#9,780

Similar misspelling depth

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

fascist11 variantsfaction11 variantsneglect11 variantspitcher11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list