occult
/ˈɒk.ʌlt/
"occult" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“occult” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,921 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #19,921
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cover or hide from view.
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 | occult |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈɒk.ʌlt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #19,921 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “occult” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for occult is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɒk.ʌlt/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,921 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for occult, with forms such as "cocult", "occlut", and "occullt". 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, "occur", "occurs", "occupy", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin occultus (“hidden, secret”). The correct English form is occult, spelled O-C-C-U-L-T.
Definition
- 1To cover or hide from view.
- 2To dissimulate, conceal, or obfuscate.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin occultus (“hidden, secret”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cocult,occlut,occullt,occultt,occutl,ocuclt,ocult
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of occult - 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.
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
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Using “occult”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-C-C-U-L-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɒk.ʌlt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “occur” - see the side-by-side comparison. occult vs occur
- 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.