merry

/ˈmɛ.ɹi/

//ˈmɛ.ɹi// adj

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

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

The verdict

“merry” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,210. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,210
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Jolly and full of high spirits; happy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-merry · merry · English

merry · rank #9,210 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,210
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH manners

Nearest frequency peer: manners (-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 “merry”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “merry” 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).

merry vs MERS
0% similar
merry vs Merv
40% similar
merry vs messy
60% similar

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

Key facts for merry
PropertyValue
Headwordmerry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmɛ.ɹi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,210
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “merry”

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).merrylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “manners” (#9,209), “mick” (#9,211), “Mafia” (#9,208). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “merry” is #9,210. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around merry (IPA /ˈmɛ.ɹi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #9,210 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for merry, with forms such as "emrry", "merryy", and "mery". 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, "MERS", "Merv", "messy", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mery, merie, mirie, myrie, murie, murȝe, from Old English meriġe, miriġe, myriġe, myreġe, myrġe (“pleasing, agreeable; pleasant, sweet, delightful; melodious”), from Proto-West Germanic *murgī (“short, slow, leisurely”), from Proto-Germa… The correct English form is merry, spelled M-E-R-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Jolly and full of high spirits; happy.
  2. 2
    Festive and full of fun and laughter.
  3. 3
    Brisk
  4. 4
    Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight.
  5. 5
    drunk; tipsy

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We had a very merry Christmas.
  2. I am neuer merry when I heare ſweet muſique.

Etymology

From Middle English mery, merie, mirie, myrie, murie, murȝe, from Old English meriġe, miriġe, myriġe, myreġe, myrġe (“pleasing, agreeable; pleasant, sweet, delightful; melodious”), from Proto-West Germanic *murgī (“short, slow, leisurely”), from Proto-Germanic *murguz (“short, slow”), from Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus (“short”). Cognate with Scots mery, mirry (“merry”), Middle Dutch mergelijc (“pleasant, agreeable, joyful”), Norwegian dialectal myrjel (“small object, figurine”), Latin brevis (“short, small, narrow, shallow”), Ancient Greek βραχύς (brakhús, “short”). Doublet of brief.

Synonyms

cheerfulcontentecstaticexultantgayhappyjovialjoyfulpleasedconvivialgayjovialenergeticlivelyspiritedactivedelightfulgladfullushymuzzysquiffydrunk

Antonyms

miserableunhappy

This word in other languages

alegre(Español)joyeux(Français)fröhlich(Deutsch)festivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emrry
  • merryy
  • mery
  • meryr
  • mmerry
  • mrery

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

emrry2merryy1mery1meryr2mmerry1mrery2
Edit distance from "merry"

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 "merry"?
"merry" is spelled M-E-R-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɛ.ɹi/.
What does "merry" mean?
As an adjective, "merry" means: Jolly and full of high spirits; happy.
What words are commonly confused with "merry"?
"merry" is commonly confused with "MERS", "Merv", "messy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "merry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "merry" is /ˈmɛ.ɹi/. 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 "merry"?
From Middle English mery, merie, mirie, myrie, murie, murȝe, from Old English meriġe, miriġe, myriġe, myreġe, myrġe (“pleasing, agreeable; pleasant, sweet, delightful; melodious”), from Proto-West Germanic *murgī (“short, slow, leisurely”), from P... 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 "merry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Mafia#9,208Nepal#9,215imply#9,191pumps#9,235

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

mick6 variantsramp6 variantsrand6 variantsthru6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list