panic
/ˈpænɪk/
"panic" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“panic” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,621 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #4,621
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Alternative letter-case form of Panic (“pertaining to the Greek god Pan”).
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 | panic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈpænɪk/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #4,621 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “panic” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for panic is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpænɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,621 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 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 panic, with forms such as "apnic", "painc", and "panci". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pic", "PNC", "pans", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is borrowed from Middle French panique, a word itself borrowed from Ancient Greek πανικός (panikós, “pertaining to Pan”); Pan, the Greek god of fields and woods, was believed to be the source of mysterious sounds that caused contagious, ground… The correct English form is panic, spelled P-A-N-I-C.
Definition
- 1Alternative letter-case form of Panic (“pertaining to the Greek god Pan”).
- 2Of fear, fright, etc: overwhelming or sudden.
- 3Pertaining to or resulting from overwhelming fear or fright.
Etymology
The adjective is borrowed from Middle French panique, a word itself borrowed from Ancient Greek πανικός (panikós, “pertaining to Pan”); Pan, the Greek god of fields and woods, was believed to be the source of mysterious sounds that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots. Adjective sense 3 (“pertaining to or resulting from overpowering fear or fright”) is partly an attributive use of the noun. The noun is derived from the adjective, while the verb is derived from the noun. Verb sense 1.3 (“to highly amuse, entertain, or impress (an audience watching a performance or show”) is derived from noun sense 4 (“a highly amusing or entertaining performer, performance, or show”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: apnic,painc,panci,panicc,pannic,pnaic,ppanic
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of panic - 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
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Using “panic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-N-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpænɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “pic” - see the side-by-side comparison. panic vs pic
- 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.