molasses

/məˈlæsɪz/

//məˈlæsɪz// noun

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

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

The verdict

“molasses” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,000. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,000
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A thick, sweet syrup drained from sugarcane, especially (Canada, US) the still thicker and sweeter syrup produced by boiling down raw molasses.

Corpus desk

Index EN-molasses · molasses · English

molasses · rank #29,000 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #29,000
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mojave

Nearest frequency peer: Mojave (-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 “molasses”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “molasses” 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).

molasses vs masses
75% similar

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

Key facts for molasses
PropertyValue
Headwordmolasses
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/məˈlæsɪz/
Letters8
Frequency rank#29,000
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “molasses”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).molasseslands 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 “Mojave” (#28,999), “moby” (#28,998), “monolithic” (#29,002). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “molasses” is #29,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around molasses (IPA /məˈlæsɪz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #29,000 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for molasses, with forms such as "mloasses", "mmolasses", and "moalsses". 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, "masses", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Portuguese melaços or Spanish melazos, from Late Latin mellacium (“must, honey-sweet thing”), from mel (“honey”) + -āceus (“-aceous”) + -ium, q.v. Some alternative forms derived or influenced by Spanish melaza and French mélasse, conjectured to derive … The correct English form is molasses, spelled M-O-L-A-S-S-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thick, sweet syrup drained from sugarcane, especially (Canada, US) the still thicker and sweeter syrup produced by boiling down raw molasses.
  2. 2
    Any similarly thick and sweet syrup produced by boiling down fruit juices, tree saps, etc., especially concentrated maple syrup.
  3. 3
    Anything considered figuratively sweet, especially sweet words.
  4. 4
    Something which moves or works extremely slowly.
  5. 5
    plural of molass: whiskey made from molasses.
  6. 6
    Synonym of molass: whiskey made from molasses.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Well, we had our breakfast of ship's bread and molasses, washed down with cannikins of something liquid - but not lovely.
  2. When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose. And the queerer the cure for those ailings the bigger the attraction. A place like the Right Livers' Rest was bound to draw freaks, same as molasses draws flies.

Etymology

From Portuguese melaços or Spanish melazos, from Late Latin mellacium (“must, honey-sweet thing”), from mel (“honey”) + -āceus (“-aceous”) + -ium, q.v. Some alternative forms derived or influenced by Spanish melaza and French mélasse, conjectured to derive from unattested Late Latin mellacea, from mel + -ācea.

Synonyms

long sweeteningtreacletheriacsorghum syrupcane syrupsugar and honey

This word in other languages

melaza(Español)mélasse(Français)Melasse(Deutsch)melaço(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mloasses
  • mmolasses
  • moalsses
  • molases
  • molasess
  • molassess
  • molassse
  • mollasses
  • molsases
  • omlasses

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

mloasses2mmolasses1moalsses2molases1molasess2molassess1molassse2mollasses1
Edit distance from "molasses"

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 "molasses"?
"molasses" is spelled M-O-L-A-S-S-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /məˈlæsɪz/.
What does "molasses" mean?
As a noun, "molasses" means: A thick, sweet syrup drained from sugarcane, especially (Canada, US) the still thicker and sweeter syrup produced by boiling down raw molasses.
What words are commonly confused with "molasses"?
"molasses" is commonly confused with "masses". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "molasses"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "molasses" is /məˈlæsɪz/. 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 "molasses"?
From Portuguese melaços or Spanish melazos, from Late Latin mellacium (“must, honey-sweet thing”), from mel (“honey”) + -āceus (“-aceous”) + -ium, q.v. Some alternative forms derived or influenced by Spanish melaza and French mélasse, conjectured ... 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 "molasses", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

motoring#29,003mystique#29,006narcotic#29,008outbound#29,022

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Maloney10 variantsOptimus10 variantsoveralls10 variantsPermian10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list