noxious

/ˈnɒkʃəs/

//ˈnɒkʃəs// adj

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

"noxious" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“noxious” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,516. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,516
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Harmful; injurious.

Corpus desk

Index EN-noxious · noxious · English

noxious · rank #32,516 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #32,516
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH Norwalk

Nearest frequency peer: Norwalk (-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 “noxious”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “noxious” 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).

noxious vs notions
71% similar

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

Key facts for noxious
PropertyValue
Headwordnoxious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈnɒkʃəs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#32,516
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “noxious”

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).noxiouslands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Norwalk” (#32,515), “nucleic” (#32,517), “nonpartisan” (#32,514). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “noxious” is #32,516. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around noxious (IPA /ˈnɒkʃəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #32,516 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Harmful; injurious.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for noxious, with forms such as "nnoxious", "noixous", and "noxiosu". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "notions", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin noxius (“hurtful, injurious”), from noxa (“hurt, injury”), from nocere (“to hurt, injure”); see nocent. The correct English form is noxious, spelled N-O-X-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Harmful; injurious.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In the living state, the body is observed to […] reject what is noxious; [...]
  2. [...] many old sewers have been neglected and are in dire need of repair. If that repair does not come in time, the result is noxious and potentially hazardous.

Etymology

From Latin noxius (“hurtful, injurious”), from noxa (“hurt, injury”), from nocere (“to hurt, injure”); see nocent.

Synonyms

harmfulinjuriousscathing

This word in other languages

nocivo(Español)nocif(Français)schädlich(Deutsch)nocivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nnoxious
  • noixous
  • noxiosu
  • noxiouss
  • noxiuos
  • noxoius
  • noxxious
  • nxoious
  • onxious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

nnoxious1noixous2noxiosu2noxiouss1noxiuos2noxoius2noxxious1nxoious2
Edit distance from "noxious"

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 "noxious"?
"noxious" is spelled N-O-X-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɒkʃəs/.
What does "noxious" mean?
As an adjective, "noxious" means: Harmful; injurious.
What words are commonly confused with "noxious"?
"noxious" is commonly confused with "notions". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "noxious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "noxious" is /ˈnɒkʃəs/. 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 "noxious"?
From Latin noxius (“hurtful, injurious”), from noxa (“hurt, injury”), from nocere (“to hurt, injure”); see nocent. 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 "noxious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Norwalk#32,515nucleic#32,517octagon#32,520opulent#32,523

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

mumble9 variantspatting9 variantsmelton9 variantsmelons9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list