menopause

/ˈmɛnəpɔːz/

//ˈmɛnəpɔːz// noun

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

"menopause" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“menopause” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,597. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,597
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The period in a woman's life when menstruation becomes irregular and less frequent before eventually stopping altogether, usually accompanied by a range of unpleasant symptoms; the period spanning ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-menopause · menopause · English

menopause · rank #23,597 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #23,597
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH McMillan

Nearest frequency peer: McMillan (-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 “menopause”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “menopause” 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).

menopause vs menopausal
80% similar

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

Key facts for menopause
PropertyValue
Headwordmenopause
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɛnəpɔːz/
Letters9
Frequency rank#23,597
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “menopause”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).menopauselands 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 “McMillan” (#23,596), “Meryl” (#23,598), “McDermott” (#23,595). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “menopause” is #23,597. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around menopause (IPA /ˈmɛnəpɔːz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,597 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for menopause, with forms such as "emnopause", "mennopause", and "menoapuse". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "menopausal", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French ménopause, from Latin menopausis, from Ancient Greek μήν (mḗn, “month”) + παῦσις (paûsis, “pause”). Equivalent to meno- + -pause. The correct English form is menopause, spelled M-E-N-O-P-A-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The period in a woman's life when menstruation becomes irregular and less frequent before eventually stopping altogether, usually accompanied by a range of unpleasant symptoms; the period spanning perimenopause up to postmenopause.
  2. 2
    The final menstrual period of a woman after which ovulation no longer occurs.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The encounter soured Thomas's relationship with Jessa, who had founded the mobile payments company, with the chief executive eventually attributing the 51-year-old's behavior to the menopause, an employment tribunal was told.
  2. The council is proposing to include guidance to magistrates and judges to consider the impact of the menopause on the behaviour of women typically aged between 45 and 55.[…]Earlier this year an employment tribunal took account of a woman’s menopause symptoms in her claim of discrimination by her employers. Maria Rooney, 52, claimed her anxiety and depress…

Etymology

From French ménopause, from Latin menopausis, from Ancient Greek μήν (mḗn, “month”) + παῦσις (paûsis, “pause”). Equivalent to meno- + -pause.

Synonyms

estropausefemopause

Antonyms

menarche

This word in other languages

menopausia(Español)ménopause(Français)Menopause(Deutsch)menopausa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emnopause
  • mennopause
  • menoapuse
  • menopasue
  • menopaues
  • menopausse
  • menoppause
  • menopuase
  • menpoause
  • meonpause
  • mmenopause
  • mneopause

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

emnopause2mennopause1menoapuse2menopasue2menopaues2menopausse1menoppause1menopuase2
Edit distance from "menopause"

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 "menopause"?
"menopause" is spelled M-E-N-O-P-A-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɛnəpɔːz/.
What does "menopause" mean?
As a noun, "menopause" means: The period in a woman's life when menstruation becomes irregular and less frequent before eventually stopping altogether, usually accompanied by a range of unpleasant symptoms; the period spanning ...
What words are commonly confused with "menopause"?
"menopause" is commonly confused with "menopausal". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "menopause"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "menopause" is /ˈmɛnəpɔːz/. 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 "menopause"?
From French ménopause, from Latin menopausis, from Ancient Greek μήν (mḗn, “month”) + παῦσις (paûsis, “pause”). Equivalent to meno- + -pause. 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 "menopause", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

McDermott#23,595martyrdom#23,594letterman#23,587Mussolini#23,607

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

loathing12 variantsincision12 variantsprenatal12 variantsforsaken12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list