obvious

/ˈɑb.vi.əs/

//ˈɑb.vi.əs// adj

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

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

The verdict

“obvious” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,361. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,361
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Easily discovered, seen, or understood; self-explanatory.

Corpus desk

Index EN-obvious · obvious · English

obvious · rank #2,361 · 9 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,361
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH novel

Nearest frequency peer: novel (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “obvious”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “obvious” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

obvious vs odious
71% similar
obvious vs obviously
78% similar
obvious vs oblivious
78% similar

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

Key facts for obvious
PropertyValue
Headwordobvious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɑb.vi.əs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#2,361
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “obvious” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around obvious (IPA /ˈɑb.vi.əs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,361 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Easily discovered, seen, or understood; self-explanatory.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for obvious, with forms such as "bovious", "obbvious", and "obivous". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "odious", "obviously", "oblivious", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 16th century, from Latin obvius (“being in the way so as to meet, meeting, easy to access, at hand, ready, obvious”) + -ous, from ob- (“before”) + via (“way”). The correct English form is obvious, spelled O-B-V-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Easily discovered, seen, or understood; self-explanatory.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.
  2. During the first year or so of British Railways, some of the simpler and more obvious inter-regional transfers of outlying sections were effected, such as those of the London, Tilbury & Southend Railway from the London Midland Region to the Eastern Region; the South Wales lines of the former L.M.S.R. to the Western Region; the Carlisle-Silloth branch (an…

Etymology

16th century, from Latin obvius (“being in the way so as to meet, meeting, easy to access, at hand, ready, obvious”) + -ous, from ob- (“before”) + via (“way”).

Synonyms

apparentarrantundoubtedglaringbaitblatantclearclear as a bellclear as dayclear cutconspicuouscrystal clearcut and drieddecidedelucidateevidenteyelyintuitivemanifestnotablenoticeableobviousopen-and-shutostensiblepalpablepatentplainplain as a haystackplain as a pikestaffplain as dayplain as Dunstable highwayplain as porridgeplain as printplain as Salisburyplain as the nose on one's faceprima facieres ipsa loquitursplendentstraightforwardundissembled

Antonyms

clear as mudinconspicuousinevidentnonevidentmuddiedmuddlednon-obviousnonobviousopaquesubtleunclearunobviousunevident

This word in other languages

obvio(Español)évident(Français)offensichtlich(Deutsch)óbvio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bovious
  • obbvious
  • obivous
  • obviosu
  • obviouss
  • obviuos
  • obvoius
  • obvvious
  • ovbious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obvious - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bovious2obbvious1obivous2obviosu2obviouss1obviuos2obvoius2obvvious1
Edit distance from "obvious"

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 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "obvious"?
"obvious" is spelled O-B-V-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɑb.vi.əs/.
What does "obvious" mean?
As an adjective, "obvious" means: Easily discovered, seen, or understood; self-explanatory.
What words are commonly confused with "obvious"?
"obvious" is commonly confused with "odious", "obviously", "oblivious". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "obvious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obvious" is /ˈɑb.vi.əs/. 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 "obvious"?
16th century, from Latin obvius (“being in the way so as to meet, meeting, easy to access, at hand, ready, obvious”) + -ous, from ob- (“before”) + via (“way”). 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 "obvious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

passing#2,362noticed#2,359stadium#2,369surgery#2,371

Similar misspelling depth

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

scored9 variantsstores9 variantsvision9 variantsforgot9 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "obvious". Here's where to go from here.

  • "obvious" maps to 3 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "odious". View pair
  • 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,361 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "O" letter cohort. O–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list