miserable

/ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/

//ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl// adj

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

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

The verdict

“miserable” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,378. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,378
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a state of misery: very sad, ill, or poor.

Corpus desk

Index EN-miserable · miserable · English

miserable · rank #6,378 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,378
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH measuring

Nearest frequency peer: measuring (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “miserable”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “miserable” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

miserable vs miserably
89% similar

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

Key facts for miserable
PropertyValue
Headwordmiserable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#6,378
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “miserable” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). miserable lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around miserable (IPA /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #6,378 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for miserable, with forms such as "imserable", "miesrable", and "misearble". 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, "miserably", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French miserable, from Old French, from Latin miserabilis, equivalent to miser + -able. The correct English form is miserable, spelled M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a state of misery: very sad, ill, or poor.
  2. 2
    Very bad (at something); unskilled, incompetent; hopeless.
  3. 3
    Of the weather, extremely unpleasant due to being cold, wet, overcast, etc.
  4. 4
    Wretched; worthless; mean; contemptible.
  5. 5
    Causing unhappiness or misery.
  6. 6
    Avaricious; niggardly; miserly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.
  2. With some of it on the south and more of it on the north of the great main thoroughfare that connects Aldgate and the East India Docks, St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French miserable, from Old French, from Latin miserabilis, equivalent to miser + -able.

This word in other languages

miserable(Español)misérable(Français)elend(Deutsch)miserável(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imserable
  • miesrable
  • misearble
  • miserabble
  • miserabel
  • miserablle
  • miseralbe
  • miserbale
  • miserible
  • miserrable
  • misreable
  • misserable
  • mmiserable
  • msierable

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

imserable2miesrable2misearble2miserabble1miserabel2miserablle1miseralbe2miserbale2
Edit distance from "miserable"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "miserable"?
"miserable" is spelled M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/.
What does "miserable" mean?
As an adjective, "miserable" means: In a state of misery: very sad, ill, or poor.
What words are commonly confused with "miserable"?
"miserable" is commonly confused with "miserably". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "miserable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "miserable" is /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/. 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 "miserable"?
Borrowed from Middle French miserable, from Old French, from Latin miserabilis, equivalent to miser + -able. 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 "miserable", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

measuring#6,377magazines#6,375Newcastle#6,385preserved#6,397

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

nationwide14 variantsexcellence14 variantscontinent14 variantscomputing14 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "miserable". Here's where to go from here.

  • This headword has one recorded confusable pair with "miserably". View pair
  • 14 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #6,378 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list