hermit
/ˈhɝmɪt/
"hermit" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hermit” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #22,110 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #22,110
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A religious recluse; someone who lives alone for religious reasons; an eremite.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hermit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhɝmɪt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #22,110 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hermit” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for hermit is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhɝmɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #22,110 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 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 hermit, with forms such as "ehrmit", "hemrit", and "herimt". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "heroin", "heroic", "hernia", 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 hermite, heremite, eremite, from Old French eremite, from Ecclesiastical Latin, Late Latin eremita, from Ancient Greek ἐρημίτης (erēmítēs, “person of the desert”) from ἐρημία (erēmía, “desert, solitude”), from ἔρημος (érēmos) or ἐρῆμος (… The correct English form is hermit, spelled H-E-R-M-I-T.
Definition
- 1A religious recluse; someone who lives alone for religious reasons; an eremite.
- 2A recluse; someone who lives alone and shuns human companionship.
- 3A spiced cookie made with molasses, raisins, and nuts.
- 4A hermit crab.
- 5Any in the subfamily Phaethornithinae of hummingbirds.
Etymology
From Middle English hermite, heremite, eremite, from Old French eremite, from Ecclesiastical Latin, Late Latin eremita, from Ancient Greek ἐρημίτης (erēmítēs, “person of the desert”) from ἐρημία (erēmía, “desert, solitude”), from ἔρημος (érēmos) or ἐρῆμος (erêmos, “uninhabited”) plus -ίτης (-ítēs, “one connected to, a member of”). Doublet of eremite. Displaced native Old English ānsetla.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ehrmit,hemrit,herimt,hermitt,hermmit,hermti,herrmit,hhermit,hremit
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hermit - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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
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Using “hermit”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-E-R-M-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈhɝmɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “heroin” - see the side-by-side comparison. hermit vs heroin
- 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.