niggling
"niggling" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“niggling” is uncommon English (frequency #70,119 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #70,119
- frequency rank, English
- 1,534
- “N” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Petty
Corpus desk
Index EN-niggling · niggling · English
niggling · rank #70,119 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #70,119
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,534
- PHOTO-FINISH Ngai
Nearest frequency peer: Ngai (-3 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 “niggling”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- neoconserva…
neoconservative
29,888 corpus weight
- neoplastic
neoplastic
29,887 corpus weight
- Ngai
Ngai
29,885 corpus weight
- niggling
niggling
29,882 corpus weight
- Noda
Noda
29,879 corpus weight
- Nore
Nore
29,877 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “niggling” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | niggling |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #70,119 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “niggling” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
niggling is uncommon English at frequency #70,119 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
niggling doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is niggling, spelled N-I-G-G-L-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Petty
- 2Irritating.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how niggling appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
My dear Hooker, I am getting very much amused by my tendrils, it is just the sort of niggling work which suits me, and takes up no time and rather rests me whilst writing.
Sellafield hasn’t suffered an accident of equivalent scale since the 1957 fire, but the niggling fear that some radioactivity is leaking out of the facility in some fashion has never entirely vanished
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "niggling", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
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.