lethal

/ˈliː.θəl/

//ˈliː.θəl// adj

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

"lethal" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lethal” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,813. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,813
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, pertaining to, or causing death; deadly; mortal; fatal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lethal · lethal · English

lethal · rank #8,813 · 9 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,813
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH legion

Nearest frequency peer: legion (-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 “lethal”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “lethal” 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).

lethal vs legal
67% similar
lethal vs Latham
50% similar

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

Key facts for lethal
PropertyValue
Headwordlethal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈliː.θəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#8,813
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lethal”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).lethallands 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 “legion” (#8,812), “lime” (#8,814), “lads” (#8,811). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lethal” is #8,813. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around lethal (IPA /ˈliː.θəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #8,813 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Of, pertaining to, or causing death; deadly; mortal; fatal.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for lethal, with forms such as "elthal", "lehtal", and "letahl". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "legal", "Latham", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin lētālis (“deadly, mortal, fatal”), improperly written lēthālis, from lētum (“death”), improperly written as lēthum, from a supposed connection with Ancient Greek λήθη (lḗthē, “oblivion, forgetfulness”). The correct English form is lethal, spelled L-E-T-H-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, pertaining to, or causing death; deadly; mortal; fatal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin lētālis (“deadly, mortal, fatal”), improperly written lēthālis, from lētum (“death”), improperly written as lēthum, from a supposed connection with Ancient Greek λήθη (lḗthē, “oblivion, forgetfulness”).

This word in other languages

letal(Español)létal(Français)tödlich(Deutsch)letal(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elthal
  • lehtal
  • letahl
  • lethall
  • lethhal
  • lethla
  • letthal
  • llethal
  • ltehal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lethal - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

elthal2lehtal2letahl2lethall1lethhal1lethla2letthal1llethal1
Edit distance from "lethal"

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 "lethal"?
"lethal" is spelled L-E-T-H-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈliː.θəl/.
What does "lethal" mean?
As an adjective, "lethal" means: Of, pertaining to, or causing death; deadly; mortal; fatal.
What words are commonly confused with "lethal"?
"lethal" is commonly confused with "legal", "Latham". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lethal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lethal" is /ˈliː.θəl/. 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 "lethal"?
Learned borrowing from Latin lētālis (“deadly, mortal, fatal”), improperly written lēthālis, from lētum (“death”), improperly written as lēthum, from a supposed connection with Ancient Greek λήθη (lḗthē, “oblivion, forgetfulness”). 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 "lethal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

legion#8,812lively#8,815Manuel#8,821mickey#8,823

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

honors9 variantsgreens9 variantsmortal9 variantsfringe9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list