knavery

/ˈneɪvəɹi/

//ˈneɪvəɹi// noun

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

The verdict

“knavery” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The antics or tricks of a knave; boyish mischief.

Corpus desk

Index EN-knavery · knavery · English

knavery · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for knavery
PropertyValue
Headwordknavery
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈneɪvəɹi/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “knavery” in English

knaveryfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

knavery is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈneɪvəɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for knavery in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From knave + -ery. The correct English form is knavery, spelled K-N-A-V-E-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The antics or tricks of a knave; boyish mischief.
  2. 2
    An unprincipled action; deceit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] Harry Monmouth, being in his right wittes and his good iudgements, turn'd away the fat Knight with the great belly doublet: he was full of ieſts, and gypes, and knaueries, and mockes; I haue forgot his name.
  2. The young Oxonian, on the contrary, had led out one of his maiden aunts, on whom the rogue played a thousand little knaveries with impunity; he was full of practical jokes, and his delight was to tease his aunts and cousins; yet, like all mad-cap youngsters, he was a universal favourite among the women.

Etymology

From knave + -ery.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "knavery"?
"knavery" is spelled K-N-A-V-E-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈneɪvəɹi/.
What does "knavery" mean?
As a noun, "knavery" means: The antics or tricks of a knave; boyish mischief.
How do you pronounce "knavery"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "knavery" is /ˈneɪvəɹi/. 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 "knavery"?
From knave + -ery. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list