moron
/ˈmɔːɹɒn/
"moron" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“moron” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,405 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #10,405
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A stupid person; an idiot; a fool.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | moron |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɔːɹɒn/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #10,405 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “moron” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for moron is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɔːɹɒn/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,405 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for moron, with forms such as "mmoron", "moorn", and "morno". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "moto", "mort", "motor", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by American psychologist Henry H. Goddard in 1910, from Ancient Greek μωρόν (mōrón), the neuter form of μωρός (mōrós, “foolish, dull”). Coined in the third sense by philosopher Ronald Dworkin. The correct English form is moron, spelled M-O-R-O-N.
Definition
- 1A stupid person; an idiot; a fool.
- 2A person of mild mental subnormality in the former classification of mental retardation, having an intelligence quotient of 50–70.
- 3A hypothetical particle whose existence and configuration can make a moral judgment true.
Etymology
Coined by American psychologist Henry H. Goddard in 1910, from Ancient Greek μωρόν (mōrón), the neuter form of μωρός (mōrós, “foolish, dull”). Coined in the third sense by philosopher Ronald Dworkin.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: mmoron,moorn,morno,moronn,morron,mroon,omron
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of moron - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “moron”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-R-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɔːɹɒn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “moto” - see the side-by-side comparison. moron vs moto
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.