obscurity
/əbˈskjʊəɹɪti/
"obscurity" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obscurity” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #22,454 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #22,454
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Darkness; the absence of light.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | obscurity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əbˈskjʊəɹɪti/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #22,454 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “obscurity” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for obscurity is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əbˈskjʊəɹɪti/. Corpus data places it at rank #22,454 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for obscurity, with forms such as "boscurity", "obbscurity", and "obcsurity". 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, "obscenity", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English obscurite, obscuryte, from Middle French obscurité and its etymon Latin obscūritās. By surface analysis, obscure + -ity. The correct English form is obscurity, spelled O-B-S-C-U-R-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1Darkness; the absence of light.
- 2The state of being unknown; a thing that is unknown.
- 3The quality of being difficult to understand; a thing that is difficult to understand.
Etymology
From Middle English obscurite, obscuryte, from Middle French obscurité and its etymon Latin obscūritās. By surface analysis, obscure + -ity.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: boscurity,obbscurity,obcsurity,obsccurity,obscruity,obscuirty,obscuritty,obscurityy,obscuriyt,obscurrity,obscurtiy,obsscurity,obsucrity,osbcurity
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obscurity - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "obscurity"?
What does "obscurity" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "obscurity"?
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What is the origin of the word "obscurity"?
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Using “obscurity”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-B-S-C-U-R-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əbˈskjʊəɹɪti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “obscenity” - see the side-by-side comparison. obscurity vs obscenity
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.