resist
/ɹɪˈzɪst/
"resist" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“resist” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,163. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #5,163
- frequency rank, English
- 3,094
- “R” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To attempt to counter the actions or effects of.
Corpus desk
Index EN-resist · resist · English
resist · rank #5,163 · 9 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #5,163
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,094
- PHOTO-FINISH relatives
Nearest frequency peer: relatives (-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 “resist”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- radar
radar
94,841 corpus weight
- regards
regards
94,840 corpus weight
- relatives
relatives
94,839 corpus weight
- resist
resist
94,838 corpus weight
- solely
solely
94,837 corpus weight
- stepped
stepped
94,836 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “resist” 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 | resist |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈzɪst/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #5,163 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “resist” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around resist (IPA /ɹɪˈzɪst/), averb. Corpus frequency is #5,163 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for resist, with forms such as "ersist", "reisst", and "resisst". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "rest", "rests", "Revis", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English resisten, from Middle French resister and Old French resistre, and their source, Latin resistere, from re- + sistere (“cause to stand”). The correct English form is resist, spelled R-E-S-I-S-T.
Definition
- 1To attempt to counter the actions or effects of.
- 2To withstand the actions of.
- 3To oppose; to refuse to accept.
- 4To be distasteful to.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how resist appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Shepard: You could have resisted. You could have fought! Instead, you surrendered. You quit.
Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around.
Etymology
From Middle English resisten, from Middle French resister and Old French resistre, and their source, Latin resistere, from re- + sistere (“cause to stand”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ersist
- reisst
- resisst
- resistt
- resits
- ressist
- ressit
- rresist
- rseist
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of resist - 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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "resist", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "resist". Here's where to go from here.
- "resist" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "rest". View pair
- 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #5,163 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.