lewd
/ljuːd/
"lewd" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lewd” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,725. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #22,725
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lascivious, sexually promiscuous, rude.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lewd · lewd · English
lewd · rank #22,725 · 6 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #22,725
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH lettering
Nearest frequency peer: lettering (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “lewd”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Leland
Leland
77,279 corpus weight
- lemme
lemme
77,278 corpus weight
- lettering
lettering
77,277 corpus weight
- lewd
lewd
77,276 corpus weight
- lifeboat
lifeboat
77,275 corpus weight
- liturgy
liturgy
77,273 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “lewd” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | lewd |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ljuːd/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #22,725 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lewd” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around lewd (IPA /ljuːd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #22,725 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for lewd, with forms such as "elwd", "ledw", and "lewdd". 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, "low", "lid", "lex", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English lewed, lewd, leued (“unlearned, lay, lascivious”), from Old English lǣwede (“unlearned, ignorant, lay”), of uncertain origin. Formally similar to a derivative of the past participle of Old English lǣwan (“to reveal, betray”) in the sense… The correct English form is lewd, spelled L-E-W-D.
Definition
- 1Lascivious, sexually promiscuous, rude.
- 2Lay; not clerical.
- 3Uneducated.
- 4Vulgar, common; typical of the lower orders.
- 5Base, vile, reprehensible.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lewd appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Onstage he was known for ricochet riffs on politics, social issues and cultural matters both high and low; tales of drug and alcohol abuse; lewd commentaries on relations between the sexes; and lightning-like improvisations on anything an audience member might toss at him.
So these great clerks their little wisdom show / To mock the lewd, as learn'd in this as they.
Etymology
From Middle English lewed, lewd, leued (“unlearned, lay, lascivious”), from Old English lǣwede (“unlearned, ignorant, lay”), of uncertain origin. Formally similar to a derivative of the past participle of Old English lǣwan (“to reveal, betray”) in the sense of "exposed as being unlearned" or "easily betrayed, clueless", from Proto-West Germanic *lāwijan, from Proto-Germanic *lēwijaną (“to betray”), from *lēwą (“an opportunity, cause”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēw- (“to leave”). If so, then cognate with Old High German gilāen, firlāen (“to betray”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (galēwjan, “to give over, betray”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐍅 (lēw, “an opportunity, cause”). Or, according to the OED, probably from Vulgar Latin *laigo-, from Late Latin lāicus (“of the people”), from Ancient Greek λαϊκός (laïkós).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- elwd
- ledw
- lewdd
- lewwd
- llewd
- lwed
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lewd - 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.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lewd", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "lewd". Here's where to go from here.
- "lewd" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "low". View pair
- 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #22,725 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.