kinky
/ˈkɪŋki/
"kinky" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“kinky” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,881 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #17,881
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Full of kinks; liable to kink or curl.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | kinky |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkɪŋki/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #17,881 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “kinky” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for kinky is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɪŋki/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,881 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for kinky, with forms such as "iknky", "kikny", and "kinkky". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "kirk", "kino", "kitty", 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 kink + -y. Compare Spanish canquiñi (“nappy”). The correct English form is kinky, spelled K-I-N-K-Y.
Definition
- 1Full of kinks; liable to kink or curl.
- 2Marked by unconventional sexual preferences or behavior, as fetishism, sadomasochism, and other sexual practices.
- 3Queer; eccentric; crotchety.
Etymology
From kink + -y. Compare Spanish canquiñi (“nappy”).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iknky,kikny,kinkky,kinkyy,kinnky,kinyk,kkinky,kniky
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kinky - 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
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Using “kinky”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is K-I-N-K-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɪŋki/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “kirk” - see the side-by-side comparison. kinky vs kirk
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.