retired
/ɹɪˈtaɪəd/
"retired" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“retired” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,390 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #3,390
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 14
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Secluded from society (of a lifestyle, activity etc.); private, quiet.
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 | retired |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈtaɪəd/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #3,390 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 14 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “retired” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for retired is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈtaɪəd/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,390 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for retired, with forms such as "ertired", "reitred", and "retierd". 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 14 confusable-pair relationships, "revived", "revered", "retiree", 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 retire + -ed. The correct English form is retired, spelled R-E-T-I-R-E-D.
Definition
- 1Secluded from society (of a lifestyle, activity etc.); private, quiet.
- 2Of a place, far from civilization, not able to be easily seen or accessed; secluded.
- 3Having left employment, especially on reaching pensionable age. (of people)
- 4No longer in use or production.
Etymology
From retire + -ed.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ertired,reitred,retierd,retirde,retiredd,retirred,retried,rettired,rretired,rteired
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of retired - 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.
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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Using “retired”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-T-I-R-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɪˈtaɪəd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “revived” - see the side-by-side comparison. retired vs revived
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.