reign

/ɹeɪn/

//ɹeɪn// noun

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

"reign" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“reign” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,407. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,407
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The exercise of sovereign power.

Corpus desk

Index EN-reign · reign · English

reign · rank #6,407 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,407
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reed

Nearest frequency peer: reed (-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 “reign”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “reign” 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).

reign vs rig
60% similar
reign vs ren
60% similar
reign vs rin
60% similar

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

Key facts for reign
PropertyValue
Headwordreign
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹeɪn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,407
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “reign”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).reignlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “reed” (#6,406), “responding” (#6,408), “retained” (#6,409). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “reign” is #6,407. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around reign (IPA /ɹeɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,407 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for reign, with forms such as "erign", "regin", and "reiggn". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "rig", "ren", "rin", 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 Middle English regnen, from Old French reignier, from the Latin verb rēgnō, and the noun rēgnum. Doublet of regnum. Displaced native Old English rīċe (“a reign”) and ricsian (“to reign”). The correct English form is reign, spelled R-E-I-G-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The exercise of sovereign power.
  2. 2
    The period during which a monarch rules.
  3. 3
    The territory or sphere over which a kingdom; empire; realm; dominion, etc. is ruled.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. England prospered under Elizabeth I's reign.
  2. Throughout history, no single dictator has successfully upheld their reign forever, no matter how powerful they seemed to be.

Etymology

From Middle English regnen, from Old French reignier, from the Latin verb rēgnō, and the noun rēgnum. Doublet of regnum. Displaced native Old English rīċe (“a reign”) and ricsian (“to reign”).

This word in other languages

reinado(Español)règne(Français)Herrschaft(Deutsch)reinado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erign
  • regin
  • reiggn
  • reignn
  • reing
  • riegn
  • rreign

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of reign - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

erign2regin2reiggn1reignn1reing2riegn2rreign1
Edit distance from "reign"

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 "reign"?
"reign" is spelled R-E-I-G-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹeɪn/.
What does "reign" mean?
As a noun, "reign" means: The exercise of sovereign power.
What words are commonly confused with "reign"?
"reign" is commonly confused with "rig", "ren", "rin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "reign"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "reign" is /ɹeɪn/. 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 "reign"?
From Middle English regnen, from Old French reignier, from the Latin verb rēgnō, and the noun rēgnum. Doublet of regnum. Displaced native Old English rīċe (“a reign”) and ricsian (“to reign”). 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 "reign", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

rises#6,410saves#6,411scare#6,413ports#6,396

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

ballot7 variantsintel7 variantscheat7 variantsChile7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list