reckless
/ˈɹɛkləs/
"reckless" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“reckless” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,388. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #9,388
- frequency rank, English
- 3,094
- “R” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Careless or heedless; headstrong or rash.
Corpus desk
Index EN-reckless · reckless · English
reckless · rank #9,388 · 11 variants · 3 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #9,388
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,094
- PHOTO-FINISH redemption
Nearest frequency peer: redemption (+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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “reckless”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- premise
premise
90,617 corpus weight
- quiz
quiz
90,616 corpus weight
- rainfall
rainfall
90,615 corpus weight
- reckless
reckless
90,613 corpus weight
- redemption
redemption
90,612 corpus weight
- remedy
remedy
90,609 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “reckless” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | reckless |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɹɛkləs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #9,388 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “reckless” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around reckless (IPA /ˈɹɛkləs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #9,388 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for reckless, with forms such as "erckless", "rcekless", and "recckless". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "restless", "recklessly", "recess", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rekles, reckeles, rekkeles, (also recheles), from Old English rēcelēas (“reckless, careless, negligent”), equivalent to reck + -less. Cognate with West Frisian roekeleas (“reckless”), Dutch roekeloos (“reckless”), German Low German ruukl… The correct English form is reckless, spelled R-E-C-K-L-E-S-S.
Definition
- 1Careless or heedless; headstrong or rash.
- 2Indifferent or oblivious to danger or the consequences thereof.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how reckless appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Escalation is the film’s nuclear energy source. It’s there, of course, in the downright lunatic stunts performed by [Tom] Cruise, again defying good sense and his own advancing years to top his previous feats of reckless self-endangerment.
Etymology
From Middle English rekles, reckeles, rekkeles, (also recheles), from Old English rēcelēas (“reckless, careless, negligent”), equivalent to reck + -less. Cognate with West Frisian roekeleas (“reckless”), Dutch roekeloos (“reckless”), German Low German ruuklos (“careless”), German ruchlos (“careless, notorious”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- erckless
- rcekless
- recckless
- reckelss
- reckkless
- reckles
- recklless
- recklses
- reclkess
- rekcless
- rreckless
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of reckless - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "reckless", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "reckless". Here's where to go from here.
- "reckless" maps to 3 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "restless". View pair
- 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #9,388 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "R" letter cohort. R–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.