heal
/ˈhiːl/verb, noun
heal is spelled H-E-A-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,878th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “heal vs heel” about 1,900 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, heal means “To make better from a disease, wound, etc.; to revive or cure” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in heal?
| Letters | 4: H-E-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,878th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is heal?
Heal appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,878th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce heal?
- /ˈhiːl/
- [ˈhɪi̯l]
Heal has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-heal.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with heal
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: he'll, heel (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: hele.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with heal?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as heal.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: hale.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of heal
- heals present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- healing participle, present
- healed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does heal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make better from a disease, wound, etc.; to revive or cure.
This bandage will help to heal your cut.
- 2
To become better or healthy again.
Bandages allow cuts to heal.
- 3
To reconcile, as a breach or difference; to make whole; to free from guilt.
to heal dissensions
- 4
rareAlternative form of hele (“conceal”).
noun
- 1
A spell or ability that restores hit points or removes a status ailment.
- 2
Healing; an instance of restoration of health or hit points.
Give me heals! I need healing!
- 3
obsoletehealth
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Heal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | guérir, assainir |
| German | heilen , verheilen, abheilen |
| Portuguese | curar, sanar, sarar |
| Spanish | curar, sanar , curarse, cicatrizar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does heal come from?
From Middle English helen, from Old English hǣlan (“to heal, cure, save, greet, salute”), from Proto-West Germanic *hailijan, from Proto-Germanic *hailijaną (“to heal, make whole, save”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos (“healthy, whole”). Derived from the adjective at hand in whole.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).