pernicious

/pəˈnɪʃəs/

//pəˈnɪʃəs// adj

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

"pernicious" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pernicious” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,222. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,222
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Causing much harm in a subtle way.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pernicious · pernicious · English

pernicious · rank #34,222 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,222
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH periscope

Nearest frequency peer: periscope (-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 “pernicious”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pernicious” 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
Key facts for pernicious
PropertyValue
Headwordpernicious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pəˈnɪʃəs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#34,222
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pernicious”

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).perniciouslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “periscope” (#34,221), “perversion” (#34,223), “pensioner” (#34,220). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pernicious” is #34,222. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around pernicious (IPA /pəˈnɪʃəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #34,222 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for pernicious, with forms such as "eprnicious", "penricious", and "perincious". 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. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English, from Old French pernicios, from Latin perniciōsus (“destructive”), from perniciēs (“destruction”), from per (“through”) + nex (“slaughter, death”). The correct English form is pernicious, spelled P-E-R-N-I-C-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Causing much harm in a subtle way.
  2. 2
    Causing death or injury; deadly.
  3. 3
    Insidiously villainous: intending to cause harm, especially in a subtle way.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. pernicious influence
  2. pernicious effects

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French pernicios, from Latin perniciōsus (“destructive”), from perniciēs (“destruction”), from per (“through”) + nex (“slaughter, death”).

This word in other languages

pernicioso(Español)nocif(Français)schädlich(Deutsch)mórbido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eprnicious
  • penricious
  • perincious
  • pernciious
  • perniccious
  • perniciosu
  • perniciouss
  • perniciuos
  • pernicoius
  • perniicous
  • pernnicious
  • perrnicious
  • ppernicious
  • prenicious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pernicious - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

eprnicious2penricious2perincious2pernciious2perniccious1perniciosu2perniciouss1perniciuos2
Edit distance from "pernicious"

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 "pernicious"?
"pernicious" is spelled P-E-R-N-I-C-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈnɪʃəs/.
What does "pernicious" mean?
As an adjective, "pernicious" means: Causing much harm in a subtle way.
What are common misspellings of "pernicious"?
Common misspellings include "eprnicious", "penricious", "perincious", "pernciious", "perniccious". The correct spelling is "pernicious".
How do you pronounce "pernicious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pernicious" is /pəˈnɪʃəs/. 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 "pernicious"?
From Middle English, from Old French pernicios, from Latin perniciōsus (“destructive”), from perniciēs (“destruction”), from per (“through”) + nex (“slaughter, death”). 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 "pernicious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

perversion#34,223offsetting#34,211metastasis#34,194receptacle#34,253

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

microchip14 variantsreshaping14 variantsrevitalize14 variantsSagittarius14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list