panic
/ˈpænɪk/
"panic" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“panic” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,621. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #4,621
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative letter-case form of Panic (“pertaining to the Greek god Pan”).
Corpus desk
Index EN-panic · panic · English
panic · rank #4,621 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #4,621
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH oral
Nearest frequency peer: oral (-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 “panic”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- occasions
occasions
95,383 corpus weight
- offense
offense
95,382 corpus weight
- oral
oral
95,381 corpus weight
- panic
panic
95,380 corpus weight
- pays
pays
95,379 corpus weight
- peoples
peoples
95,378 corpus weight
What this shows “panic” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “panic”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around panic (IPA /ˈpænɪk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #4,621 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how panic appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
All things were there in a diſordered confuſion, and in a confuſed furie, vntill ſuch time as by prayers and ſacrifices they had appeaſed the wrath of their Gods. They call it to this day, the P[a]nike terror.
So long as Epaminondas was captaine general of the Thebans, there was never ſeene in his campe any of theſe ſudden fooliſh frights, without any certeine cauſe, which they call Panique Terrores.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "panic", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).