parasite
/ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/
"parasite" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“parasite” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,805. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #14,805
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently t...
Corpus desk
Index EN-parasite · parasite · English
parasite · rank #14,805 · 11 variants · 2 confusables
- FREQ-MID #14,805
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH parachute
Nearest frequency peer: parachute (-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 “parasite”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- oversee
oversee
85,199 corpus weight
- pageant
pageant
85,198 corpus weight
- parachute
parachute
85,197 corpus weight
- parasite
parasite
85,196 corpus weight
- parenthood
parenthood
85,195 corpus weight
- perennial
perennial
85,194 corpus weight
What this shows “parasite” 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 | parasite |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #14,805 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “parasite”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around parasite (IPA /ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,805 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for parasite, with forms such as "aprasite", "paarsite", and "paraiste". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "parasitic", "paradise", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French parasite, from Latin parasitus, from Ancient Greek παράσιτος (parásitos, “person who eats at the table of another”), from noun use of adjective meaning "feeding beside", from παρά (pará, “beside”) + σῖτος (sîtos, “food”). The correct English form is parasite, spelled P-A-R-A-S-I-T-E.
Definition
- 1An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently to cover the cost to that other organism.
- 2An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently to cover the cost to that other organism.
- 3A person who lives on other people's efforts or expense and gives little or nothing back.
- 4A sycophant or hanger-on.
- 5A climbing plant which is supported by a wall, trellis etc.
- 6A retainer or companion of an ancient Celtic warrior, who praised him in song or poetry at gatherings; a bard.
- 7A component of a composite aircraft which is carried aloft and air-launched by a larger carrier aircraft or mother ship to support the primary mission of the carrier; a parasite aircraft.
- 8An isolated (FSDU) (freestanding display unit )
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how parasite appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Lice, fleas, ticks, and mites are widely spread parasites.
...and the mistletoe crept round many of the oaks—that pleasant parasite, whose associations belong rather to the hearth and lighted hall than to its native branches.
Etymology
From Middle French parasite, from Latin parasitus, from Ancient Greek παράσιτος (parásitos, “person who eats at the table of another”), from noun use of adjective meaning "feeding beside", from παρά (pará, “beside”) + σῖτος (sîtos, “food”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- aprasite
- paarsite
- paraiste
- parasiet
- parasitte
- parassite
- parastie
- parrasite
- parsaite
- pparasite
- praasite
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of parasite - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "parasite", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).