religious

/ɹɪˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/

//ɹɪˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs// adj

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

"religious" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“religious” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,497. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,497
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Concerning religion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-religious · religious · English

religious · rank #1,497 · 12 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,497
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH receive

Nearest frequency peer: receive (-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 “religious”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “religious” 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).

religious vs religiously
82% similar
religious vs religion
78% similar
religious vs religions
89% similar

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

Key facts for religious
PropertyValue
Headwordreligious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɹɪˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#1,497
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “religious”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).religiouslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “receive” (#1,496), “ride” (#1,498), “reached” (#1,495). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “religious” is #1,497. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around religious (IPA /ɹɪˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,497 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for religious, with forms such as "erligious", "reilgious", and "relgiious". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "religiously", "religion", "religions", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English religiouse, religious, religius, religeous, from Anglo-Norman religieus, religius, from Old French religious, religieux, and their source, Latin religiōsus (“religious, superstitious, conscientious”), from religiō. Doublet of religieux. The correct English form is religious, spelled R-E-L-I-G-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Concerning religion.
  2. 2
    Committed to the practice or adherence of religion.
  3. 3
    Highly dedicated, as one would be to a religion.
  4. 4
    Belonging or pertaining to a religious order.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It is the job of this court to rule on legal matters. We do not consider religious issues.
  2. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trus…

Etymology

From Middle English religiouse, religious, religius, religeous, from Anglo-Norman religieus, religius, from Old French religious, religieux, and their source, Latin religiōsus (“religious, superstitious, conscientious”), from religiō. Doublet of religieux.

Antonyms

irreligiousprofanesecularatheisticareligiousirreligiousantonym(s) ofseculardiocesan

This word in other languages

religioso(Español)religieux(Français)religiös(Deutsch)religioso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erligious
  • reilgious
  • relgiious
  • religgious
  • religiosu
  • religiouss
  • religiuos
  • religoius
  • reliigous
  • relligious
  • rleigious
  • rreligious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of religious - 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.

erligious2reilgious2relgiious2religgious1religiosu2religiouss1religiuos2religoius2
Edit distance from "religious"

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 "religious"?
"religious" is spelled R-E-L-I-G-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/.
What does "religious" mean?
As an adjective, "religious" means: Concerning religion.
What words are commonly confused with "religious"?
"religious" is commonly confused with "religiously", "religion", "religions". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "religious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "religious" is /ɹɪˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/. 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 "religious"?
From Middle English religiouse, religious, religius, religeous, from Anglo-Norman religieus, religius, from Old French religious, religieux, and their source, Latin religiōsus (“religious, superstitious, conscientious”), from religiō. Doublet of r... 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 "religious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wonderful#1,514everybody#1,525interview#1,458structure#1,543

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

powerful12 variantsexchange12 variantsbenefits12 variantslocation12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list