marvel
/ˈmɑɹvl̩/
"marvel" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“marvel” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,521 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #5,521
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - That which causes wonder; a prodigy; a portent.
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 | marvel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɑɹvl̩/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #5,521 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “marvel” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for marvel is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɑɹvl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,521 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for marvel, with forms such as "amrvel", "marevl", and "marrvel". 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, "maven", "mauve", "morel", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested from 1300, from Middle English merveile, from Old French merveille (“a wonder”), from Vulgar Latin *miribilia, from Latin mīrābilia (“wonderful things”), from neuter plural of mīrābilis (“strange, wonderful”), from mīror (“I wonder at”), from… The correct English form is marvel, spelled M-A-R-V-E-L.
Definition
- 1That which causes wonder; a prodigy; a portent.
- 2Wonder, astonishment.
Etymology
First attested from 1300, from Middle English merveile, from Old French merveille (“a wonder”), from Vulgar Latin *miribilia, from Latin mīrābilia (“wonderful things”), from neuter plural of mīrābilis (“strange, wonderful”), from mīror (“I wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”). Doublet of mirabilia.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amrvel,marevl,marrvel,marvell,marvle,marvvel,mavrel,mmarvel,mravel
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of marvel - 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.
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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Using “marvel”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-R-V-E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɑɹvl̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “maven” - see the side-by-side comparison. marvel vs maven
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.