hopeful

/ˈhəʊpfl̩/

//ˈhəʊpfl̩// adj

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

"hopeful" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hopeful” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,762. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,762
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - feeling hope

Corpus desk

Index EN-hopeful · hopeful · English

hopeful · rank #9,762 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,762
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hips

Nearest frequency peer: hips (-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 “hopeful”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “hopeful” 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).

hopeful vs hopefully
78% similar
hopeful vs hateful
71% similar

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

Key facts for hopeful
PropertyValue
Headwordhopeful
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈhəʊpfl̩/
Letters7
Frequency rank#9,762
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hopeful”

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).hopefullands 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 “hips” (#9,761), “horny” (#9,763), “hid” (#9,760). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hopeful” is #9,762. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around hopeful (IPA /ˈhəʊpfl̩/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #9,762 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for hopeful, with forms such as "hhopeful", "hoepful", and "hopefful". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "hopefully", "hateful", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From hope + -ful. The correct English form is hopeful, spelled H-O-P-E-F-U-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    feeling hope
  2. 2
    inspiring hope

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I have been very hopeful.
  2. I am hopeful that I will recover from the disease.

Etymology

From hope + -ful.

Antonyms

hopelessdesperatedejected

This word in other languages

esperanzado(Español)encourageant(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhopeful
  • hoepful
  • hopefful
  • hopeflu
  • hopefull
  • hopeufl
  • hopfeul
  • hoppeful
  • hpoeful
  • ohpeful

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hhopeful1hoepful2hopefful1hopeflu2hopefull1hopeufl2hopfeul2hoppeful1
Edit distance from "hopeful"

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 "hopeful"?
"hopeful" is spelled H-O-P-E-F-U-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhəʊpfl̩/.
What does "hopeful" mean?
As an adjective, "hopeful" means: feeling hope
What words are commonly confused with "hopeful"?
"hopeful" is commonly confused with "hopefully", "hateful". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hopeful"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hopeful" is /ˈhəʊpfl̩/. 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 "hopeful"?
From hope + -ful. 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 "hopeful", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hygiene#9,765Iceland#9,766flooded#9,750fascist#9,747

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

cautious10 variantsbulletin10 variantsshrimp10 variantsstained10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list