molly

/ˈmɒli/

//ˈmɒli// noun

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

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

The verdict

“molly” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,694. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,694
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A woman or girl, especially of low status or prostitute.

Corpus desk

Index EN-molly · molly · English

molly · rank #8,694 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,694
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Minneapolis

Nearest frequency peer: Minneapolis (-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 “molly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “molly” 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).

molly vs mull
60% similar
molly vs moly
80% similar
molly vs money
60% similar

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

Key facts for molly
PropertyValue
Headwordmolly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɒli/
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,694
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “molly”

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).mollylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Minneapolis” (#8,693), “Morrison” (#8,695), “MIA” (#8,692). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “molly” is #8,694. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around molly (IPA /ˈmɒli/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,694 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for molly, with forms such as "mloly", "mmolly", and "mollyy". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "mull", "moly", "money", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Molly, the personal name, a pet form of Mary. In some cases it is possibly derived from mollitia (“softness, weakness”). Drug sense probably influenced by the initial of MDMA. The correct English form is molly, spelled M-O-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A woman or girl, especially of low status or prostitute.
  2. 2
    a male homosexual, especially an effeminate one.
  3. 3
    Pure MDMA powder.
  4. 4
    A mollemoke.
  5. 5
    A female cat, a she-cat (usually spayed)
  6. 6
    A bird, the wagtail.
  7. 7
    A molly bolt.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. So la-da-di-da-di, we like to party / Dancing with Molly / Doing whatever we want
  2. Well…you want to do these together then? Pure Molly…

Etymology

From Molly, the personal name, a pet form of Mary. In some cases it is possibly derived from mollitia (“softness, weakness”). Drug sense probably influenced by the initial of MDMA.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mloly
  • mmolly
  • mollyy
  • molyl
  • omlly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

mloly2mmolly1mollyy1molyl2omlly2
Edit distance from "molly"

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 "molly"?
"molly" is spelled M-O-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɒli/.
What does "molly" mean?
As a noun, "molly" means: A woman or girl, especially of low status or prostitute.
What words are commonly confused with "molly"?
"molly" is commonly confused with "mull", "moly", "money". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "molly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "molly" is /ˈmɒli/. 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 "molly"?
From Molly, the personal name, a pet form of Mary. In some cases it is possibly derived from mollitia (“softness, weakness”). Drug sense probably influenced by the initial of MDMA. 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 "molly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

messy#8,691ninja#8,700marsh#8,687peaks#8,705

Similar misspelling depth

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

Maya5 variantsglen5 variantssaga5 variantsalley5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list