rascal
/ˈɹɑːskl̩/
"rascal" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rascal” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,571. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #26,571
- frequency rank, English
- 3,094
- “R” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A dishonest person; a rogue, a scoundrel, a trickster.
Corpus desk
Index EN-rascal · rascal · English
rascal · rank #26,571 · 9 variants · 6 confusables
- FREQ-MID #26,571
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,094
- PHOTO-FINISH rarest
Nearest frequency peer: rarest (-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 “rascal”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- quorum
quorum
73,435 corpus weight
- rarest
rarest
73,431 corpus weight
- rascal
rascal
73,430 corpus weight
- reared
reared
73,429 corpus weight
- revue
revue
73,426 corpus weight
- Reza
Reza
73,425 corpus weight
What this shows “rascal” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rascal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹɑːskl̩/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #26,571 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “rascal”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around rascal (IPA /ˈɹɑːskl̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,571 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for rascal, with forms such as "arscal", "racsal", and "rasacl". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Rashad", "rasa", "racial", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded since c.1330, as Middle English rascaile (“people of the lowest class, rabble of an army”), derived from 12th century Old French rascaille (“outcast, rabble”) (modern French racaille), perhaps from rasque (“mud, filth, scab, dregs”), from Vulgar La… The correct English form is rascal, spelled R-A-S-C-A-L.
Definition
- 1A dishonest person; a rogue, a scoundrel, a trickster.
- 2A cheeky person or creature; a troublemaker.
- 3A member of a criminal gang.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how rascal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Tuc[ca]. […] Can thy Author doe it impudently enough? / Hiſt[rio]. O, I warrant you, Captaine: and ſpitefully inough too; he ha's one of the moſt ouerflowing villanous wits, in Rome. He will ſlander any man that breathes; If he diſguſt him. / Tucca. I'le know the poor, egregious, nitty Raſcall; and he haue ſuch commendable Qualities, I'le cheriſh him: […]
And he smote Corinius on his shaven jowl with the dice box, calling him cheat and mangy rascal, whereupon Corinius drew forth a bodkin to smite him in the neck withal; […]
Etymology
Recorded since c.1330, as Middle English rascaile (“people of the lowest class, rabble of an army”), derived from 12th century Old French rascaille (“outcast, rabble”) (modern French racaille), perhaps from rasque (“mud, filth, scab, dregs”), from Vulgar Latin *rasicō (“to scrape”). The singular form is first attested in 1461; the present extended sense of "low, dishonest person" is from early 1586.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- arscal
- racsal
- rasacl
- rascall
- rasccal
- rascla
- rasscal
- rrascal
- rsacal
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rascal - 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.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "rascal", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).