livid

/ˈlɪvɪd/

//ˈlɪvɪd// adj

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

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

The verdict

“livid” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,348. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,348
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a dark, bluish appearance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-livid · livid · English

livid · rank #29,348 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,348
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lira

Nearest frequency peer: lira (-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 “livid”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “livid” 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).

livid vs Lviv
40% similar
livid vs Livy
40% similar
livid vs loved
60% similar

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

Key facts for livid
PropertyValue
Headwordlivid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈlɪvɪd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#29,348
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “livid”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).lividlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “lira” (#29,347), “lobbies” (#29,349), “lint” (#29,346). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “livid” is #29,348. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around livid (IPA /ˈlɪvɪd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #29,348 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for livid, with forms such as "ilvid", "liivd", and "livdi". 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, "Lviv", "Livy", "loved", 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 livid, livide, from Old French livide, from Latin līvidus (“bluish, livid; envious”), from līveō (“be of a bluish color or livid; envy”), from Proto-Italic *sliwēō, from Proto-Indo-European *sliwo-, suffixed form of *(s)leh₃y- (“bluish”)… The correct English form is livid, spelled L-I-V-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a dark, bluish appearance.
  2. 2
    Pale, pallid.
  3. 3
    So angry that one turns pale; very angry; furious; liverish.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Jean Raynaud, cook, aged about twenty years, of a melancholy temperament, had his whole body covered with a purple livid colour, and a bubo under his left axilla; […] His lungs were covered with little livid ſpots, ſoft and pliant, without any hardneſs in their ſubſtance. The liver was larger and harder than ordinary, and was alſo full of livid purple ſpo…
  2. In [J. M. W.] Turner's distinctive work, colour is scarcely acknowledged unless under influences of sunshine. The sunshine is his treasure; his lividest gloom contains it; his greyest twilight regrets it, and remembers.

Etymology

From Middle English livid, livide, from Old French livide, from Latin līvidus (“bluish, livid; envious”), from līveō (“be of a bluish color or livid; envy”), from Proto-Italic *sliwēō, from Proto-Indo-European *sliwo-, suffixed form of *(s)leh₃y- (“bluish”). See also Old English slā (“sloe”), Welsh lliw (“splendor, color”), Old Irish li, Lithuanian slyvas (“plum”), and Russian and Old Church Slavonic слива (sliva, “plum”).

This word in other languages

lívido(Español)livide(Français)blau(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ilvid
  • liivd
  • livdi
  • lividd
  • livvid
  • llivid
  • lviid

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ilvid2liivd2livdi2lividd1livvid1llivid1lviid2
Edit distance from "livid"

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 "livid"?
"livid" is spelled L-I-V-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɪvɪd/.
What does "livid" mean?
As an adjective, "livid" means: Having a dark, bluish appearance.
What words are commonly confused with "livid"?
"livid" is commonly confused with "Lviv", "Livy", "loved". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "livid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "livid" is /ˈlɪvɪd/. 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 "livid"?
From Middle English livid, livide, from Old French livide, from Latin līvidus (“bluish, livid; envious”), from līveō (“be of a bluish color or livid; envy”), from Proto-Italic *sliwēō, from Proto-Indo-European *sliwo-, suffixed form of *(s)leh₃y- ... 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 "livid", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

lotte#29,353Laude#29,342larva#29,341mares#29,365

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

looser7 variantsMcKee7 variantsMobil7 variantsmolar7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list