opium

/ˈoʊ.pi.əm/

//ˈoʊ.pi.əm// noun

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

"opium" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“opium” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,875. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,875
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A yellow-brown, addictive narcotic drug obtained from the dried juice of unripe pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and containing alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, and papaverine.

Corpus desk

Index EN-opium · opium · English

opium · rank #15,875 · 6 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,875
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH ovarian

Nearest frequency peer: ovarian (+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 “opium”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “opium” 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).

opium vs OPM
0% similar
opium vs opus
60% similar
opium vs optimum
71% similar

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

Key facts for opium
PropertyValue
Headwordopium
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈoʊ.pi.əm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#15,875
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “opium”

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).opiumlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “ovarian” (#15,876), “onward” (#15,873), “peck” (#15,877). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “opium” is #15,875. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around opium (IPA /ˈoʊ.pi.əm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,875 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for opium, with forms such as "oipum", "opimu", and "opiumm". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "OPM", "opus", "optimum", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sokʷós Ancient Greek ὀπός (opós) Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Ancient Greek -ῐος (-ĭos)? Ancient Greek -ῐον (-ĭon) Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion)bor. Latin opiumbor. ▲ Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion)bor. English opium Borrowed … The correct English form is opium, spelled O-P-I-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A yellow-brown, addictive narcotic drug obtained from the dried juice of unripe pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and containing alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, and papaverine.
  2. 2
    Anything that numbs or stupefies.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. From hence we firſt ſailed to Achin, in the iſland of Sumatra, and then to Siam, where we bartered our wares for ſome arrack and opium, the laſt of which bore a great price among the Chineſe:[…]
  2. Opium is largely used by the Chinese as a sexual provocation, both by men and women.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sokʷós Ancient Greek ὀπός (opós) Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Ancient Greek -ῐος (-ĭos)? Ancient Greek -ῐον (-ĭon) Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion)bor. Latin opiumbor. ▲ Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion)bor. English opium Borrowed from Latin opium and Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion), from ὀπός (opós, “juice of a plant”), from Proto-Indo-European *sokʷós (“juice, resin”).

Synonyms

aunti/aunti Emmabig OchanduChinese tobaccodopiumdream gundream stickfi-do-niegeeGod's medicinegondolagoricgumahop/hopsmeconiummidnight oilmudopepen yanpin gonpoxskeetoxywhen-sheeyenzezero

This word in other languages

opio(Español)opium(Français)Opium(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oipum
  • opimu
  • opiumm
  • oppium
  • opuim
  • poium

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

oipum2opimu2opiumm1oppium1opuim2poium2
Edit distance from "opium"

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 "opium"?
"opium" is spelled O-P-I-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈoʊ.pi.əm/.
What does "opium" mean?
As a noun, "opium" means: A yellow-brown, addictive narcotic drug obtained from the dried juice of unripe pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and containing alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, and papaverine.
What words are commonly confused with "opium"?
"opium" is commonly confused with "OPM", "opus", "optimum". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "opium"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "opium" is /ˈoʊ.pi.əm/. 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 "opium"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sokʷós Ancient Greek ὀπός (opós) Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Ancient Greek -ῐος (-ĭos)? Ancient Greek -ῐον (-ĭon) Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion)bor. Latin opiumbor. ▲ Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion)bor. English opium... 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 "opium", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

penal#15,878plank#15,884privy#15,890Lyons#15,858

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

peck6 variantsmont6 variantsraft6 variantsRubio6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list