marred

/mɑːd/

//mɑːd// adj

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

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

The verdict

“marred” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,839. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,839
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Spoiled; harmed or damaged.

Corpus desk

Index EN-marred · marred · English

marred · rank #25,839 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,839
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH markup

Nearest frequency peer: markup (-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 “marred”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “marred” 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).

marred vs marry
67% similar
marred vs mated
67% similar
marred vs mired
67% similar

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

Key facts for marred
PropertyValue
Headwordmarred
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/mɑːd/
Letters6
Frequency rank#25,839
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “marred”

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).marredlands 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 “markup” (#25,838), “Melrose” (#25,840), “miniseries” (#25,842). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “marred” is #25,839. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around marred (IPA /mɑːd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #25,839 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for marred, with forms such as "amrred", "mared", and "marerd". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "marry", "mated", "mired", 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 marred, merred (“troubled, distressed, vexed, bewildered”), from Old English *mierred, ġemyrred (“disturbed, troubled”), past participle of Old English mierran, ġemyrran (“to hinder, obstruct, force, trouble, err”), equivalent to mar + -ed. The correct English form is marred, spelled M-A-R-R-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Spoiled; harmed or damaged.
  2. 2
    Of a person, perplexed or troubled
  3. 3
    Spoilt, cosseted, overly indulged, soft.

Etymology

From Middle English marred, merred (“troubled, distressed, vexed, bewildered”), from Old English *mierred, ġemyrred (“disturbed, troubled”), past participle of Old English mierran, ġemyrran (“to hinder, obstruct, force, trouble, err”), equivalent to mar + -ed.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amrred
  • mared
  • marerd
  • marrde
  • marredd
  • mmarred
  • mrared

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

amrred2mared1marerd2marrde2marredd1mmarred1mrared2
Edit distance from "marred"

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 "marred"?
"marred" is spelled M-A-R-R-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /mɑːd/.
What does "marred" mean?
As an adjective, "marred" means: Spoiled; harmed or damaged.
What words are commonly confused with "marred"?
"marred" is commonly confused with "marry", "mated", "mired". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "marred"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "marred" is /mɑːd/. 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 "marred"?
From Middle English marred, merred (“troubled, distressed, vexed, bewildered”), from Old English *mierred, ġemyrred (“disturbed, troubled”), past participle of Old English mierran, ġemyrran (“to hinder, obstruct, force, trouble, err”), equivalent ... 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 "marred", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

markup#25,838Maison#25,834Moffat#25,846motley#25,849

Similar misspelling depth

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

lumen7 variantsnbsp7 variantsLeung7 variantspiety7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list