jangle
/ˈdʒæŋɡl̩/
"jangle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“jangle” is uncommon English (frequency #68,332 among 4,872 “J” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #68,332
- frequency rank, English
- 4,872
- “J” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cause (something) to make a rattling metallic sound.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | jangle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈdʒæŋɡl̩/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #68,332 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “jangle” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
jangle is uncommon English at frequency #68,332 among 4,872 “J” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈdʒæŋɡl̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for jangle in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English janglen (“to talk excessively, chatter; to talk idly, gossip; to nag; to complain, grumble; to argue, debate; to discuss, talk; to talk indistinctly, jabber; to make a noise or outcry; of a bird: to chatter, twitter”) [and other forms], … The correct English form is jangle, spelled J-A-N-G-L-E.
Definition
- 1To cause (something) to make a rattling metallic sound.
- 2To express or say (something) in an argumentative or harsh manner.
- 3To irritate or jar (something).
- 4To make a rattling metallic sound.
- 5To speak in an angry or harsh manner.
- 6To quarrel verbally; to wrangle.
- 7Of a person: to speak loudly or too much; to chatter, to prate; of a bird: to make a noisy chattering sound.
Etymology
From Middle English janglen (“to talk excessively, chatter; to talk idly, gossip; to nag; to complain, grumble; to argue, debate; to discuss, talk; to talk indistinctly, jabber; to make a noise or outcry; of a bird: to chatter, twitter”) [and other forms], from Old French jangler (“to chatter, gossip; to argue noisily; to bawl”) [and other forms]; further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Old Dutch *jangelon (“to jeer”) (compare Middle Dutch jangelen (“to murmur, grumble, buzz, mutter, drone, simmer”), modern Dutch jengelen (“to whine, persistently nag, whimper”), though the Oxford English Dictionary finds this improbable) and ultimately imitative.
This word in other languages
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 “jangle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is J-A-N-G-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdʒæŋɡl̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.