migraine

/ˈmaɪɡɹeɪn/

//ˈmaɪɡɹeɪn// noun

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

"migraine" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“migraine” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,893. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,893
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A severe, disabling headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, and often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia and visual disturbances.

Corpus desk

Index EN-migraine · migraine · English

migraine · rank #18,893 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,893
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH millennial

Nearest frequency peer: millennial (+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 “migraine”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “migraine” 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).

migraine vs migrant
75% similar
migraine vs migrate
75% similar
migraine vs moraine
75% similar

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

Key facts for migraine
PropertyValue
Headwordmigraine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmaɪɡɹeɪn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#18,893
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “migraine”

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).migrainelands 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 “millennial” (#18,894), “microbial” (#18,891), “mitt” (#18,895). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “migraine” is #18,893. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around migraine (IPA /ˈmaɪɡɹeɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,893 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for migraine, with forms such as "imgraine", "mgiraine", and "migarine". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "migrant", "migrate", "moraine", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: First appears c. 1425. A respelling (following French) of the late 14th century Middle English megrim, from the 13th century Old French migraigne, from Vulgar Latin pronunciation of Latin hemicrania (“a pain in one half of the head”), from Ancient Greek ἡμι… The correct English form is migraine, spelled M-I-G-R-A-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A severe, disabling headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, and often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia and visual disturbances.
  2. 2
    A neurological condition characterised by such headaches.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He had a headache so bad that he wished he was dead, but it was the sort of migraine that promised him he would continue to suffer but not die.
  2. After consuming too much coffee every day for six weeks, she got severe migraines that would last up until 47 minutes after her first cup of coffee.

Etymology

First appears c. 1425. A respelling (following French) of the late 14th century Middle English megrim, from the 13th century Old French migraigne, from Vulgar Latin pronunciation of Latin hemicrania (“a pain in one half of the head”), from Ancient Greek ἡμικρανία (hēmikranía), from ἡμι- (hēmi-, “hemi-, half”) + κρανίον (kraníon, “the skull”) (whence also cranium), a calque of Egyptian gs-tp (“a headache”), from gs (“half”) + tp (“the head”), although the link between the Egyptian magical papyri and the Greek ἡμικρανία (hēmikranía) could be purely incidental. Cognate to megrim, hemicrania.

Synonyms

hemicraniamegrimmigraine headachesick headache

This word in other languages

migraña(Español)migraine(Français)Migräne(Deutsch)enxaqueca(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imgraine
  • mgiraine
  • migarine
  • miggraine
  • migraien
  • migrainne
  • migranie
  • migriane
  • migrraine
  • mirgaine
  • mmigraine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

imgraine2mgiraine2migarine2miggraine1migraien2migrainne1migranie2migriane2
Edit distance from "migraine"

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 "migraine"?
"migraine" is spelled M-I-G-R-A-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmaɪɡɹeɪn/.
What does "migraine" mean?
As a noun, "migraine" means: A severe, disabling headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, and often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia and visual disturbances.
What words are commonly confused with "migraine"?
"migraine" is commonly confused with "migrant", "migrate", "moraine". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "migraine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "migraine" is /ˈmaɪɡɹeɪn/. 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 "migraine"?
First appears c. 1425. A respelling (following French) of the late 14th century Middle English megrim, from the 13th century Old French migraigne, from Vulgar Latin pronunciation of Latin hemicrania (“a pain in one half of the head”), from Ancient... 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 "migraine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Monterey#18,899maverick#18,886optimize#18,909playback#18,919

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

millennial11 variantsshrugged11 variantsfrantic11 variantsslogans11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list