pathos
/ˈpeɪˌθɒs/
"pathos" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pathos” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,870. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #35,870
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 13
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth...
Corpus desk
Index EN-pathos · pathos · English
pathos · rank #35,870 · 9 variants · 13 confusables
- FREQ-MID #35,870
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH ped
Nearest frequency peer: ped (+2 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 “pathos”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- overestimate
overestimate
64,137 corpus weight
- oxytocin
oxytocin
64,135 corpus weight
- pandit
pandit
64,134 corpus weight
- pathos
pathos
64,131 corpus weight
- ped
ped
64,129 corpus weight
- peninsular
peninsular
64,126 corpus weight
What this shows “pathos” 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 | pathos |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpeɪˌθɒs/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #35,870 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 13 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pathos”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around pathos (IPA /ˈpeɪˌθɒs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,870 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for pathos, with forms such as "apthos", "pahtos", and "pathhos". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "pats", "paths", "patio", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek πάθος (páthos, “suffering”). The correct English form is pathos, spelled P-A-T-H-O-S.
Definition
- 1The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression; pathetic quality.
- 2A form of rhetoric in which the writer or speaker uses emotional appeals to the audience as the main form of persuasion.
- 3An author's attempt to evoke a feeling of pity or sympathetic sorrow for a character.
- 4In theology and existentialist ethics following Kierkegaard and Heidegger, a deep and abiding commitment of the heart, as in the notion of "finding your passion" as an important aspect of a fully lived, engaged life.
- 5Suffering; the enduring of active stress or affliction.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pathos appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
His voice had a genuine pathos now, and his large brown hands perceptibly trembled.
She could not see, for her whitish eyes were covered with a horny film. Oh, the horrible pathos of the sight! But she could still speak.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek πάθος (páthos, “suffering”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- apthos
- pahtos
- pathhos
- pathoss
- pathso
- patohs
- patthos
- ppathos
- ptahos
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pathos - 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 "pathos", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).