pedophile

/ˈpiː.dəˌfaɪl/

//ˈpiː.dəˌfaɪl// noun

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

"pedophile" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pedophile” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,658. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,658
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An adult or older adolescent who is sexually attracted to prepubescent children.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pedophile · pedophile · English

pedophile · rank #19,658 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,658
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH peat

Nearest frequency peer: peat (-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 “pedophile”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pedophile” 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).

pedophile vs pedophilia
80% similar
pedophile vs paedophile
90% similar

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

Key facts for pedophile
PropertyValue
Headwordpedophile
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpiː.dəˌfaɪl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#19,658
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pedophile”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pedophilelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “peat” (#19,657), “peptide” (#19,659), “Peabody” (#19,656). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pedophile” is #19,658. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around pedophile (IPA /ˈpiː.dəˌfaɪl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,658 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for pedophile, with forms such as "epdophile", "pdeophile", and "peddophile". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "pedophilia", "paedophile", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pedo- (“child”) + -phile, after Ancient Greek παιδοφῐ́λης (paidophĭ́lēs) (from παῖς (paîs, “boy, child”) + φιλέω (philéō, “to love”)). The correct English form is pedophile, spelled P-E-D-O-P-H-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An adult or older adolescent who is sexually attracted to prepubescent children.
  2. 2
    An adult who is sexually attracted to or engages in sexual acts with a child under the age of consent.
  3. 3
    A consumer of lewd artwork of characters under the age of consent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Apart from his sexual behavior, the pedophile is typically law abiding.
  2. The pedophile, a particular type of child molester, is an adult whose conscious sexual interests and overt sexual behavior are directly either partially or exclusively toward children.

Etymology

From pedo- (“child”) + -phile, after Ancient Greek παιδοφῐ́λης (paidophĭ́lēs) (from παῖς (paîs, “boy, child”) + φιλέω (philéō, “to love”)).

Synonyms

childlover

Antonyms

teleiophile

This word in other languages

pedófilo(Español)pédophile(Français)Pädophiler(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • epdophile
  • pdeophile
  • peddophile
  • pedohpile
  • pedophhile
  • pedophiel
  • pedophille
  • pedophlie
  • pedopihle
  • pedopphile
  • pedpohile
  • peodphile
  • ppedophile

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pedophile - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

epdophile2pdeophile2peddophile1pedohpile2pedophhile1pedophiel2pedophille1pedophlie2
Edit distance from "pedophile"

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 "pedophile"?
"pedophile" is spelled P-E-D-O-P-H-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpiː.dəˌfaɪl/.
What does "pedophile" mean?
As a noun, "pedophile" means: An adult or older adolescent who is sexually attracted to prepubescent children.
What words are commonly confused with "pedophile"?
"pedophile" is commonly confused with "pedophilia", "paedophile". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pedophile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pedophile" is /ˈpiː.dəˌfaɪl/. 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 "pedophile"?
From pedo- (“child”) + -phile, after Ancient Greek παιδοφῐ́λης (paidophĭ́lēs) (from παῖς (paîs, “boy, child”) + φιλέω (philéō, “to love”)). 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 "pedophile", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

periphery#19,661polarized#19,666margarita#19,641regiments#19,680

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

rockstar13 variantssighting13 variantsheadphone13 variantsstacking13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list