libre

/ˈliːbɹə/

//ˈliːbɹə// adj

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

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

The verdict

“libre” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,570. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,570
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Especially of the will: free, independent, unconstrained.

Corpus desk

Index EN-libre · libre · English

libre · rank #34,570 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,570
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Levinson

Nearest frequency peer: Levinson (-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 “libre”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “libre” 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).

libre vs lie
60% similar
libre vs like
60% similar
libre vs life
60% similar

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

Key facts for libre
PropertyValue
Headwordlibre
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈliːbɹə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#34,570
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “libre”

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).librelands 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 “Levinson” (#34,569), “lighthearted” (#34,571), “Lesotho” (#34,568). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “libre” is #34,570. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around libre (IPA /ˈliːbɹə/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #34,570 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for libre, with forms such as "ilbre", "lbire", and "libbre". 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, "lie", "like", "life", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: The obsolete “unconstrained” sense is borrowed from French libre (“at liberty”; “free” as in “clear”, “vacant”, “without obligation”), from Latin līber (“free, unrestricted”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- (“people”), whence obsolete English… The correct English form is libre, spelled L-I-B-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Especially of the will: free, independent, unconstrained.
  2. 2
    With very few limitations on distribution or the right to access the source code to create improved versions, but not necessarily free of charge.
  3. 3
    Not enslaved (of a black person in a French- or Spanish-colonized area, especially New Orleans).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He [God] Adame lent a libre will to follow what he liſt, / And with his holy ſpirit, and grace his choſen dois aſſiſt: [...]
  2. One more point leads toward Free Software in education: when students get jobs, they prefer to use tools they learned at school in order to minimize extra learning efforts. This fact should lead colleges to teach only those tools not owned by anyone—those that are libre.

Etymology

The obsolete “unconstrained” sense is borrowed from French libre (“at liberty”; “free” as in “clear”, “vacant”, “without obligation”), from Latin līber (“free, unrestricted”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- (“people”), whence obsolete English lede (“person(s)”), English leud, and German Leute. The software and the unenslaved senses are either borrowed from the above French, or from its Spanish cognate libre, of the same meaning and Latin etymon.

This word in other languages

libre(Español)libre(Français)freie(Deutsch)livre(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ilbre
  • lbire
  • libbre
  • librre
  • lirbe
  • llibre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ilbre2lbire2libbre1librre1lirbe2llibre1
Edit distance from "libre"

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 "libre"?
"libre" is spelled L-I-B-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈliːbɹə/.
What does "libre" mean?
As an adjective, "libre" means: Especially of the will: free, independent, unconstrained.
What words are commonly confused with "libre"?
"libre" is commonly confused with "lie", "like", "life". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "libre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "libre" is /ˈliːbɹə/. 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 "libre"?
The obsolete “unconstrained” sense is borrowed from French libre (“at liberty”; “free” as in “clear”, “vacant”, “without obligation”), from Latin līber (“free, unrestricted”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- (“people”), whence obsole... 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 "libre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Lenox#34,567leary#34,564lupin#34,579Mehdi#34,586

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Klux6 variantsMetz6 variantsNeale6 variantsholm6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list