nosy

/ˈnəʊziː/

//ˈnəʊziː// adj

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

"nosy" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nosy” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,995. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,995
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Prying, inquisitive or curious in other’s affairs; tending to snoop or meddle.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nosy · nosy · English

nosy · rank #34,995 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,995
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH Noonan

Nearest frequency peer: Noonan (-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 “nosy”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “nosy” 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).

nosy vs not
50% similar
nosy vs now
50% similar
nosy vs nov
50% similar

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

Key facts for nosy
PropertyValue
Headwordnosy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈnəʊziː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#34,995
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nosy”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).nosylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Noonan” (#34,994), “nullify” (#34,996), “nibble” (#34,993). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nosy” is #34,995. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around nosy (IPA /ˈnəʊziː/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #34,995 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for nosy, with forms such as "nnosy", "nossy", and "nosyy". 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, "not", "now", "nov", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From nose + -y. The correct English form is nosy, spelled N-O-S-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Prying, inquisitive or curious in other’s affairs; tending to snoop or meddle.
  2. 2
    Having a large or elongated nose.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Before even considering such a conversation, ask yourself why you want to know, Casares advises. “Are you asking because you feel jealous of that person?” she says. “Are you asking because you also want to go on a GLP-1, or are you asking because you’re nosy and need to know what’s going on in everybody else’s life?”
  2. They built tall fences, yet the nosy neighbors always seemed to know everything about them.

Etymology

From nose + -y.

Synonyms

interferingkibitzingmeddlesome

This word in other languages

chismoso(Español)fouineur(Français)neugierig(Deutsch)intrometido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nnosy
  • nossy
  • nosyy
  • noys
  • nsoy
  • onsy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nosy - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

nnosy1nossy1nosyy1noys2nsoy2onsy2
Edit distance from "nosy"

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 "nosy"?
"nosy" is spelled N-O-S-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnəʊziː/.
What does "nosy" mean?
As an adjective, "nosy" means: Prying, inquisitive or curious in other’s affairs; tending to snoop or meddle.
What words are commonly confused with "nosy"?
"nosy" is commonly confused with "not", "now", "nov". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nosy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nosy" is /ˈnəʊziː/. 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 "nosy"?
From nose + -y. 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 "nosy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Muay#34,991lyra#34,971Kohl#34,950Jena#34,944

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

romp6 variantsHoms6 variantsFDIC6 variantstosh6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list