imaginary
/ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnəɹi/
"imaginary" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“imaginary” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,767. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #9,767
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Existing only in the imagination.
Corpus desk
Index EN-imaginary · imaginary · English
imaginary · rank #9,767 · 13 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #9,767
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-HIGH 13 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH Iceland
Nearest frequency peer: Iceland (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “imaginary”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Hungarian
Hungarian
90,237 corpus weight
- hygiene
hygiene
90,236 corpus weight
- Iceland
Iceland
90,235 corpus weight
- imaginary
imaginary
90,234 corpus weight
- imprisoned
imprisoned
90,233 corpus weight
- inconsistent
inconsistent
90,232 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “imaginary” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | imaginary |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnəɹi/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #9,767 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “imaginary” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 13 spelling variants around imaginary (IPA /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnəɹi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #9,767 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for imaginary, with forms such as "iamginary", "imagginary", and "imagianry". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ymaginarie, ymagynary, from Latin imāginārius (“relating to images, fancied”), from imāgō, equivalent to imagine + -ary. The mathematical sense derives from René Descartes's use (of the French imaginaire) in 1637, La Geometrie, to ridicu… The correct English form is imaginary, spelled I-M-A-G-I-N-A-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Existing only in the imagination.
- 2Having no real part; that part of a complex number which is a multiple of √ (called imaginary unit).
- 3Having no real part; that part of a complex number which is a multiple of √ (called imaginary unit).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how imaginary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
imaginary friend
Unicorns are imaginary.
Etymology
From Middle English ymaginarie, ymagynary, from Latin imāginārius (“relating to images, fancied”), from imāgō, equivalent to imagine + -ary. The mathematical sense derives from René Descartes's use (of the French imaginaire) in 1637, La Geometrie, to ridicule the notion of regarding non-real roots of polynomials as numbers. Although Descartes' usage was derogatory, the designation stuck even after the concept gained acceptance in the 18th century.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- iamginary
- imagginary
- imagianry
- imaginarry
- imaginaryy
- imaginayr
- imaginnary
- imaginray
- imagniary
- imaignary
- imgainary
- immaginary
- miaginary
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of imaginary - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "imaginary"?
What does "imaginary" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "imaginary", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "imaginary". Here's where to go from here.
- 13 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #9,767 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "I" letter cohort. I–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.