pulsar

noun

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

"pulsar" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pulsar” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,829. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,829
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A rotating neutron star that emits radio pulses periodically.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pulsar · pulsar · English

pulsar · rank #41,829 · 9 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,829
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH putrid

Nearest frequency peer: putrid (+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 “pulsar”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pulsar” 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).

pulsar vs pulse
67% similar
pulsar vs pulses
67% similar
pulsar vs pulsed
67% similar

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

Key facts for pulsar
PropertyValue
Headwordpulsar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Frequency rank#41,829
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pulsar”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).pulsarlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “putrid” (#41,830), “Prot” (#41,827), “racquet” (#41,833). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pulsar” is #41,829. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around pulsar, anoun. Corpus frequency is #41,829 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A rotating neutron star that emits radio pulses periodically.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for pulsar, with forms such as "plusar", "ppulsar", and "pulasr". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "pulse", "pulses", "pulsed", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Blend of pulsating + (radio) star, patterned after quasar. Coined by British astronomers Antony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell in 1968, and first used in print in The Daily Telegraph. By surface analysis, pulse + -ar The correct English form is pulsar, spelled P-U-L-S-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A rotating neutron star that emits radio pulses periodically.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Rapidly rotating dead stars, pulsars are so named because as they spin, they release beams of electromagnetic radiation across space that appear to pulse like celestial lighthouses. But a pulsar called PSR J1023+0038, located about 4,500 light-years away from Earth in the Sextans constellation, is even more unusual in that some of the pulses are brighter…

Etymology

Blend of pulsating + (radio) star, patterned after quasar. Coined by British astronomers Antony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell in 1968, and first used in print in The Daily Telegraph. By surface analysis, pulse + -ar

Synonyms

PSR

This word in other languages

púlsar(Español)pulsar(Français)Pulsar(Deutsch)pulsar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • plusar
  • ppulsar
  • pulasr
  • pullsar
  • pulsarr
  • pulsra
  • pulssar
  • puslar
  • uplsar

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pulsar - 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.

plusar2ppulsar1pulasr2pullsar1pulsarr1pulsra2pulssar1puslar2
Edit distance from "pulsar"

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 "pulsar"?
"pulsar" is spelled P-U-L-S-A-R.
What does "pulsar" mean?
As a noun, "pulsar" means: A rotating neutron star that emits radio pulses periodically.
What words are commonly confused with "pulsar"?
"pulsar" is commonly confused with "pulse", "pulses", "pulsed". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "pulsar"?
Blend of pulsating + (radio) star, patterned after quasar. Coined by British astronomers Antony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell in 1968, and first used in print in The Daily Telegraph. By surface analysis, pulse + -ar 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 "pulsar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

putrid#41,830ramped#41,834preyed#41,823plying#41,811

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

regalia9 variantspitman9 variantsroyally9 variantsmuffler9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list