perjury

/ˈpɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒəɹi/

//ˈpɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒəɹi// noun

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

"perjury" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“perjury” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,415. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,415
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath.

Corpus desk

Index EN-perjury · perjury · English

perjury · rank #19,415 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #19,415
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH penthouse

Nearest frequency peer: penthouse (-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 “perjury”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “perjury” 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).

perjury vs perry
71% similar

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

Key facts for perjury
PropertyValue
Headwordperjury
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒəɹi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#19,415
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “perjury”

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).perjurylands 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 “penthouse” (#19,414), “patriarch” (#19,413), “pious” (#19,417). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “perjury” is #19,415. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around perjury (IPA /ˈpɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒəɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,415 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for perjury, with forms such as "eprjury", "pejrury", and "perjjury". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "perry", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman perjurie, from Latin perjūrāre (“swear falsely”), from per- + jūrāre. Displaced native Old English mānāþ (literally “false oath”). The correct English form is perjury, spelled P-E-R-J-U-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. We declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman perjurie, from Latin perjūrāre (“swear falsely”), from per- + jūrāre. Displaced native Old English mānāþ (literally “false oath”).

Synonyms

oathbreachfalse testimonytestilyingtestiphony

This word in other languages

perjurio(Español)faux témoignage(Français)Meineid(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eprjury
  • pejrury
  • perjjury
  • perjruy
  • perjurry
  • perjuryy
  • perjuyr
  • perrjury
  • perujry
  • pperjury
  • prejury

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

eprjury2pejrury2perjjury1perjruy2perjurry1perjuryy1perjuyr2perrjury1
Edit distance from "perjury"

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 "perjury"?
"perjury" is spelled P-E-R-J-U-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒəɹi/.
What does "perjury" mean?
As a noun, "perjury" means: The deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath.
What words are commonly confused with "perjury"?
"perjury" is commonly confused with "perry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "perjury"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perjury" is /ˈpɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒəɹi/. 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 "perjury"?
From Anglo-Norman perjurie, from Latin perjūrāre (“swear falsely”), from per- + jūrāre. Displaced native Old English mānāþ (literally “false oath”). 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 "perjury", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pajamas#19,411Potomac#19,419paisley#19,410quarrel#19,427

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

reasoned11 variantsmyspace11 variantsmidtown11 variantsmidterm11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list