misery

/ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ/

//ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“misery” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,454. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,454
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.

Corpus desk

Index EN-misery · misery · English

misery · rank #8,454 · 9 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,454
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH midst

Nearest frequency peer: midst (-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 “misery”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “misery” 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).

misery vs Mixer
50% similar
misery vs misty
67% similar
misery vs Missy
50% similar

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

Key facts for misery
PropertyValue
Headwordmisery
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#8,454
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “misery”

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).miserylands 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 “midst” (#8,453), “module” (#8,455), “Memphis” (#8,452). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “misery” is #8,454. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around misery (IPA /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,454 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for misery, with forms such as "imsery", "miesry", and "miserry". 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 12 confusable-pair relationships, "Mixer", "misty", "Missy", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English miserie, from Old French miserie (modern: misère), from Latin miseria, from miser, equivalent to miser + -y. Doublet of misère and mizeria. The correct English form is misery, spelled M-I-S-E-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.
  2. 2
    A bodily ache or pain.
  3. 3
    Cause of misery; calamity; misfortune.
  4. 4
    poverty.
  5. 5
    greed; avarice.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ever since his wife left him you can see the misery on his face.
  2. For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne.

Etymology

From Middle English miserie, from Old French miserie (modern: misère), from Latin miseria, from miser, equivalent to miser + -y. Doublet of misère and mizeria.

This word in other languages

miseria(Español)misère(Français)Misere(Deutsch)miséria(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imsery
  • miesry
  • miserry
  • miseryy
  • miseyr
  • misrey
  • missery
  • mmisery
  • msiery

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

imsery2miesry2miserry1miseryy1miseyr2misrey2missery1mmisery1
Edit distance from "misery"

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 "misery"?
"misery" is spelled M-I-S-E-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ/.
What does "misery" mean?
As a noun, "misery" means: Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe.
What words are commonly confused with "misery"?
"misery" is commonly confused with "Mixer", "misty", "Missy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "misery"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "misery" is /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹɪ/. 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 "misery"?
From Middle English miserie, from Old French miserie (modern: misère), from Latin miseria, from miser, equivalent to miser + -y. Doublet of misère and mizeria. 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 "misery", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

module#8,455Monroe#8,457liable#8,450mosque#8,458

Similar misspelling depth

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

plains9 variantsgifted9 variantstraces9 variantsyields9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list