readability

/ˌɹiːdəˈbɪlɪti/

//ˌɹiːdəˈbɪlɪti// noun

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

"readability" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“readability” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,516. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#39,516
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The property of being capable of being read; legibility.

Corpus desk

Index EN-readability · readability · English

readability · rank #39,516 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #39,516
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Rajesh

Nearest frequency peer: Rajesh (-2 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 “readability”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “readability” 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).

readability vs reliability
82% similar

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

Key facts for readability
PropertyValue
Headwordreadability
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɹiːdəˈbɪlɪti/
Letters11
Frequency rank#39,516
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “readability”

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).readabilitylands 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 “Rajesh” (#39,514), “raindrops” (#39,513), “railed” (#39,512). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “readability” is #39,516. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around readability (IPA /ˌɹiːdəˈbɪlɪti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #39,516 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for readability, with forms such as "eradability", "raedability", and "reaadbility". 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, "reliability", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From readable + -ity or read + -ability. The correct English form is readability, spelled R-E-A-D-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The property of being capable of being read; legibility.
  2. 2
    The property of being easy or engaging to read.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. When done correctly, kerning helps to improve the readability of text by adding or removing space between two letters. Bad kerning, also known as keming, leads to misreadings, and in the worst cases, incredibly bad (but humorous) misunderstandings.
  2. Point-free coding is a byproduct of adopting declarative programming. You can use point-free coding without FP. But because point-free is all about improving the readability of code at a glance and making it simpler to parse, having the guarantees imposed by FP furthers this cause.

Etymology

From readable + -ity or read + -ability.

This word in other languages

lisibilité(Français)Lesbarkeit(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eradability
  • raedability
  • reaadbility
  • readabbility
  • readabiilty
  • readabilitty
  • readabilityy
  • readabiliyt
  • readabillity
  • readabiltiy
  • readabliity
  • readaiblity
  • readbaility
  • readdability
  • redaability
  • rreadability

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of readability - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

eradability2raedability2reaadbility2readabbility1readabiilty2readabilitty1readabilityy1readabiliyt2
Edit distance from "readability"

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 "readability"?
"readability" is spelled R-E-A-D-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɹiːdəˈbɪlɪti/.
What does "readability" mean?
As a noun, "readability" means: The property of being capable of being read; legibility.
What words are commonly confused with "readability"?
"readability" is commonly confused with "reliability". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "readability"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "readability" is /ˌɹiːdəˈbɪlɪti/. 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 "readability"?
From readable + -ity or read + -ability. 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 "readability", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

prototyping#39,494suspenseful#39,599Tchaikovsky#39,606melancholic#39,423

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

refundable16 variantsprehistory16 variantspostmortem16 variantsschoolwork16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list