nebulous
/ˈnɛbjʊləs/
"nebulous" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nebulous” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,449. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #39,449
- frequency rank, English
- 1,534
- “N” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In the form of a cloud or haze; hazy.
Corpus desk
Index EN-nebulous · nebulous · English
nebulous · rank #39,449 · 11 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-MID #39,449
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,534
- PHOTO-FINISH Neapolitan
Nearest frequency peer: Neapolitan (-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 “nebulous”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- myeloma
myeloma
60,557 corpus weight
- natty
natty
60,555 corpus weight
- Neapolitan
Neapolitan
60,553 corpus weight
- nebulous
nebulous
60,552 corpus weight
- negated
negated
60,551 corpus weight
- Newberry
Newberry
60,549 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “nebulous” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nebulous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈnɛbjʊləs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #39,449 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “nebulous” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around nebulous (IPA /ˈnɛbjʊləs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #39,449 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for nebulous, with forms such as "enbulous", "nbeulous", and "nebbulous". 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. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English, from Middle French nebuleus, from Latin nebulōsus (“full of mist, foggy, cloudy”), from nebula (“mist, vapour, cloud”), from Proto-Indo-European *nébʰos (“cloud, vapor, fog, moist, sky”). Cognates *Ancient Greek νέφος (néphos, “cloud”) … The correct English form is nebulous, spelled N-E-B-U-L-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1In the form of a cloud or haze; hazy.
- 2Vague or ill-defined.
- 3Relating to a nebula or nebulae.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how nebulous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The magistrate could not possibly, on the evidence, have held them for a higher court. On the one hand the compositors and pressmen were forced to admit that the light was uncertain, that they were themselves much perturbed, and that it was difficult for them to swear to the identity of the assailants; although they believed that the accused were among th…
The mothers in NaturalMoms discussed nebulous fears about potential harms from vaccines and their distrust of the medical professionals who promoted a universal immunization schedule.
Etymology
From Middle English, from Middle French nebuleus, from Latin nebulōsus (“full of mist, foggy, cloudy”), from nebula (“mist, vapour, cloud”), from Proto-Indo-European *nébʰos (“cloud, vapor, fog, moist, sky”). Cognates *Ancient Greek νέφος (néphos, “cloud”) *German Nebel **Old High German nebul (“cloud, fog”) *Old English nifol, neowol (“dark, gloomy, obscure, precipitous, prone”) by surface analysis, nebula + -ous. More at neveling, nuel.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- enbulous
- nbeulous
- nebbulous
- nebluous
- nebullous
- nebulosu
- nebulouss
- nebuluos
- nebuolus
- neublous
- nnebulous
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nebulous - 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.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nebulous", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "nebulous". Here's where to go from here.
- 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #39,449 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "N" letter cohort. N–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.