mental

/ˈmɛn.təl/

//ˈmɛn.təl// adj

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

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

The verdict

“mental” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,565. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,565
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to the mind or specifically the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mental · mental · English

mental · rank #1,565 · 9 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,565
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH lake

Nearest frequency peer: lake (-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 “mental”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mental” 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).

mental vs metal
83% similar
mental vs metals
67% similar
mental vs mentor
67% similar

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

Key facts for mental
PropertyValue
Headwordmental
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmɛn.təl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,565
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mental”

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).mentallands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “lake” (#1,564), “mentioned” (#1,566), “fresh” (#1,563). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mental” is #1,565. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around mental (IPA /ˈmɛn.təl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,565 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for mental, with forms such as "emntal", "menatl", and "menntal". 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 17 confusable-pair relationships, "metal", "metals", "mentor", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowing from Middle French mental, from Late Latin mentālis, from mēns (“mind, disposition; heart, soul”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix). The correct English form is mental, spelled M-E-N-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or relating to the mind or specifically the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality.
  2. 2
    Of or relating to the mind or specifically the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality.
  3. 3
    Of or relating to the mind or specifically the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality.
  4. 4
    Of or relating to the mind or specifically the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality.
  5. 5
    Of or relating to the mind or specifically the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality.
  6. 6
    Of, relating to, or affected by a psychiatric disorder.
  7. 7
    Of, relating to, or affected by a psychiatric disorder.
  8. 8
    Of, relating to, or affected by a psychiatric disorder.
  9. 9
    Enjoyable or fun, especially in a frenetic way.
  10. 10
    Of or relating to telepathic or mind-reading powers.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera,[…], the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis, the jewelled animals whose moral code is the code of the barnyard—!
  2. mental science

Etymology

Borrowing from Middle French mental, from Late Latin mentālis, from mēns (“mind, disposition; heart, soul”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).

This word in other languages

mental(Español)mental(Français)geistig(Deutsch)mental(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emntal
  • menatl
  • menntal
  • mentall
  • mentla
  • menttal
  • metnal
  • mmental
  • mnetal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mental - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

emntal2menatl2menntal1mentall1mentla2menttal1metnal2mmental1
Edit distance from "mental"

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 "mental"?
"mental" is spelled M-E-N-T-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɛn.təl/.
What does "mental" mean?
As an adjective, "mental" means: Of or relating to the mind or specifically the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality.
What words are commonly confused with "mental"?
"mental" is commonly confused with "metal", "metals", "mentor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mental"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mental" is /ˈmɛn.təl/. 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 "mental"?
Borrowing from Middle French mental, from Late Latin mentālis, from mēns (“mind, disposition; heart, soul”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix). 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 "mental", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

missed#1,567fourth#1,562mostly#1,568forced#1,561

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

realize9 variantsappeared9 variantstotally9 variantstwitter9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list