ravage
/ˈɹævɪd͡ʒ/
"ravage" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ravage” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #48,444 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #48,444
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To devastate, destroy or lay waste to something.
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 | ravage |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈɹævɪd͡ʒ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #48,444 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ravage” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ravage is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹævɪd͡ʒ/. Corpus data places it at rank #48,444 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for ravage, with forms such as "arvage", "raavge", and "ravaeg". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "rave", "ravine", "ravaged", 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 French ravage (“ravage, havoc, spoil”), from ravir (“to bear away suddenly”), from Latin rapere (“to snatch, seize”), akin to Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to seize”). The correct English form is ravage, spelled R-A-V-A-G-E.
Definition
- 1To devastate, destroy or lay waste to something.
- 2To pillage or plunder destructively; to sack.
- 3To wreak destruction.
- 4To have vigorous sexual intercourse with.
- 5To rape.
Etymology
From French ravage (“ravage, havoc, spoil”), from ravir (“to bear away suddenly”), from Latin rapere (“to snatch, seize”), akin to Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to seize”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: arvage,raavge,ravaeg,ravagge,ravgae,ravvage,rravage,rvaage
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ravage - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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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Using “ravage”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-A-V-A-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɹævɪd͡ʒ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “rave” - see the side-by-side comparison. ravage vs rave
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.