judge

/d͡ʒʌd͡ʒ/

//d͡ʒʌd͡ʒ// noun

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

"judge" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“judge” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,193. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,193
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A public official whose duty it is to administer the law, especially by presiding over trials and rendering judgments; a justice.

Corpus desk

Index EN-judge · judge · English

judge · rank #1,193 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,193
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH interested

Nearest frequency peer: interested (-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 “judge”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “judge” 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).

judge vs jug
60% similar
judge vs June
40% similar
judge vs Judy
40% similar

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

Key facts for judge
PropertyValue
Headwordjudge
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/d͡ʒʌd͡ʒ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,193
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “judge”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).judgelands 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 “interested” (#1,192), “lady” (#1,194), “hotel” (#1,191). Among 796 “J” headwords, “judge” is #1,193. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around judge (IPA /d͡ʒʌd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,193 among 796 “J” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for judge, with forms such as "jduge", "jjudge", and "juddge". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "jug", "June", "Judy", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English juge, jugge, from Old French juge, from Latin iūdex. Displaced native Middle English deme (from Old English dēma (“judge”)) and demere (from Old English dēmere (“judge”)), see also deemer, deemster. The correct English form is judge, spelled J-U-D-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A public official whose duty it is to administer the law, especially by presiding over trials and rendering judgments; a justice.
  2. 2
    A person who decides the fate of someone or something that has been called into question.
  3. 3
    A person officiating at a sports event, a contest, or similar; referee.
  4. 4
    A person who evaluates something or forms an opinion.
  5. 5
    A shophet, a temporary leader appointed in times of crisis in ancient Israel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The parts of a judge in hearing are four: to direct the evidence; to moderate length, repetition, or impertinency of speech; to recapitulate, select, and collate the material points of that which hath been said; and to give the rule or sentence.
  2. At a boxing match, the decision of the judges is final.

Etymology

From Middle English juge, jugge, from Old French juge, from Latin iūdex. Displaced native Middle English deme (from Old English dēma (“judge”)) and demere (from Old English dēmere (“judge”)), see also deemer, deemster.

Synonyms

doomsmanjudgjudgejusticejusticerjusticiarjusticiary

Antonyms

nonjudge

This word in other languages

juez(Español)juge(Français)Richter(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • jduge
  • jjudge
  • juddge
  • judeg
  • judgge
  • jugde
  • ujdge

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

jduge2jjudge1juddge1judeg2judgge1jugde2ujdge2
Edit distance from "judge"

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 "judge"?
"judge" is spelled J-U-D-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /d͡ʒʌd͡ʒ/.
What does "judge" mean?
As a noun, "judge" means: A public official whose duty it is to administer the law, especially by presiding over trials and rendering judgments; a justice.
What words are commonly confused with "judge"?
"judge" is commonly confused with "jug", "June", "Judy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "judge"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "judge" is /d͡ʒʌd͡ʒ/. 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 "judge"?
From Middle English juge, jugge, from Old French juge, from Latin iūdex. Displaced native Middle English deme (from Old English dēma (“judge”)) and demere (from Old English dēmere (“judge”)), see also deemer, deemster. 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 "judge", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hotel#1,191gotta#1,190goals#1,189lines#1,197

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

letter7 variantsnamed7 variantsclaim7 variantstrain7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list