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PlainSpell

hex

/ˈhɛks/verb, noun

hex is spelled H-E-X: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, hex means “To cast a spell on (specifically an evil spell), to bewitch” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in hex?

Letters3: H-E-X
Syllables1
In writing2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

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).

How common is hex?

Hex appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th 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 hex?

  • /ˈhɛks/
  • [ˈhɛks]

Hex has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hex.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of hex

  • hexes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • hexing participle, present
  • hexed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does hex mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To cast a spell on (specifically an evil spell), to bewitch.

  2. 2

    To modify a game file using a hex editor.

noun

  1. 1

    An evil spell or curse.

  2. 2

    A witch.

  3. 3

    rareA spell (now rare but still found in compounds such as hex sign and hexcraft).

  4. 4

    informalClipping of hexadecimal.

  5. 5

    A modified game file.

  6. 6

    A hexagonal space on a game board.

  7. 7

    a hexagon-shaped item of rock climbing equipment intended to be wedged into a crack or other opening in the rock.

  8. 8

    Clipping of uranium hexafluoride.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Hex in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchensorceler (to put a hex on), sortilège, sort (an evil spell or curse), sorcière (a witch)
Portugueseenfeitiçar (to put a hex on)
Spanishhechizar, aojar (to put a hex on), maleficio (an evil spell or curse), bruja (a witch), sortilegio (rare: a spell)
GermanFluch, Verhexung (an evil spell or curse), Hexe (a witch), Spruch, Hexspruch (rare: a spell)

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 hex come from?

First attested about 1830, from Pennsylvania German hexe (“to practice witchcraft”), from German hexen (compare Hexe (“witch”)). The noun appeared later, in the 1850s. Cognate to Norwegian Bokmål heks (“witch”) and Dutch heks (“witch”), Dutch beheksen (“to bewitch”), Old English hægtesse (“witch, hag”). Doublet of hag.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after hex