obscenity

Name: obscenity, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“obscenity” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,947. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,947
frequency rank, English: 1,431
“O” headwords: 14
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Something that is obscene.

Corpus desk

Index EN-obscenity · obscenity · English

obscenity · rank #32,947 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

FREQ-MID #32,947
LEN-LONG 9 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
VAR-HIGH 14 variants
BOOK-MID 1,431
PHOTO-FINISH oat

Nearest frequency peer: oat (-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.

nuh

67,058
numbing

67,057
nutritionist

67,056
oat

67,055
obscenity

67,054
obsess

67,053

What this shows “obscenity” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

obscenity vs obscurity

78% similar

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

Key facts for obscenity
Property	Value
Headword	obscenity
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#32,947
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “obscenity”

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

#32,947

#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 “oat” (#32,946), “obsess” (#32,948), “nutritionist” (#32,945). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “obscenity” is #32,947. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around obscenity, anoun. Corpus frequency is #32,947 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for obscenity, with forms such as "boscenity", "obbscenity", and "obcsenity". 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, "obscurity", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From obscene + -ity, from Latin obscenitas. The correct English form is obscenity, spelled O-B-S-C-E-N-I-T-Y.

Definition

1
Something that is obscene.
2
An act of obscene behaviour.
3
Specifically, an offensive word; a profanity; a dirty word.
4
Lewdness, indecency, or offensive behaviour or material.
5
The fact of being obscene.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

Martha wouldn't go into the art museum because, as she put it, "They have obscenities just sitting out, on display!"
Bestiality was outlawed as an obscenity in the strongly conservative community.

Etymology

From obscene + -ity, from Latin obscenitas.

This word in other languages

obscenidad(Español)obscénité(Français)Obszönität(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

boscenity
obbscenity
obcsenity
obsccenity
obsceinty
obscenitty
obscenityy
obsceniyt
obscennity
obscentiy
obscneity
obsecnity
obsscenity
osbcenity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "obscenity"

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 "obscenity"?

"obscenity" is spelled O-B-S-C-E-N-I-T-Y.

What does "obscenity" mean?

As a noun, "obscenity" means: Something that is obscene.

What words are commonly confused with "obscenity"?

"obscenity" is commonly confused with "obscurity". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

What is the origin of the word "obscenity"?

From obscene + -ity, from Latin obscenitas. 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 "obscenity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

patrolled#32,961 Pemberton#32,963 motivator#32,928 pluralism#32,972

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

posturing14 variants McKnight14 variants predation14 variants randomness14 variants