peril

/ˈpɛɹɪl/

//ˈpɛɹɪl// noun

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

"peril" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“peril” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,206. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,206
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A situation of serious and immediate danger.

Corpus desk

Index EN-peril · peril · English

peril · rank #17,206 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,206
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pepe

Nearest frequency peer: Pepe (-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 “peril”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “peril” 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).

peril vs Pil
40% similar
peril vs Phil
40% similar
peril vs Peru
40% similar

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

Key facts for peril
PropertyValue
Headwordperil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɛɹɪl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#17,206
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “peril”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).perillands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Pepe” (#17,205), “PK” (#17,207), “Patton” (#17,204). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “peril” is #17,206. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around peril (IPA /ˈpɛɹɪl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,206 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 peril, with forms such as "epril", "peirl", and "perill". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Pil", "Phil", "Peru", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English peril, from Old French peril, from Latin perīculum. Doublet of periculum. The correct English form is peril, spelled P-E-R-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A situation of serious and immediate danger.
  2. 2
    Something that causes, contains, or presents danger.
  3. 3
    An event which causes a loss, or the risk of a specific such event.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Your life is in peril.
  2. the perils of the jungle (animals and insects, weather, etc.)

Etymology

From Middle English peril, from Old French peril, from Latin perīculum. Doublet of periculum.

Synonyms

dangerhazardjeopardyriskthreat

This word in other languages

peligro(Español)péril(Français)Gefahr(Deutsch)perigo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • epril
  • peirl
  • perill
  • perli
  • perril
  • pperil
  • preil

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

epril2peirl2perill1perli2perril1pperil1preil2
Edit distance from "peril"

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 "peril"?
"peril" is spelled P-E-R-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɛɹɪl/.
What does "peril" mean?
As a noun, "peril" means: A situation of serious and immediate danger.
What words are commonly confused with "peril"?
"peril" is commonly confused with "Pil", "Phil", "Peru". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "peril"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "peril" is /ˈpɛɹɪl/. 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 "peril"?
From Middle English peril, from Old French peril, from Latin perīculum. Doublet of periculum. 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 "peril", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

papal#17,203Paolo#17,202Polly#17,210pores#17,211

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

motif7 variantsmodem7 variantsretina7 variantsrosen7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list