rex
/ˈɹɛks/
"rex" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rex” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #8,478) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #8,478
- frequency rank, English
- 3,094
- “R” headwords
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A king, particularly in ancient Rome.
Corpus desk
Index EN-rex · rex · English
rex · rank #8,478 · 0 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #8,478
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,094
- PHOTO-FINISH resting
Nearest frequency peer: resting (-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 “rex”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- pursued
pursued
91,527 corpus weight
- recruit
recruit
91,525 corpus weight
- resting
resting
91,524 corpus weight
- rex
rex
91,523 corpus weight
- rogue
rogue
91,522 corpus weight
- Roosevelt
Roosevelt
91,521 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “rex” 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 | rex |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹɛks/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #8,478 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rex” sits in English frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for rex is neighbouring look-alikes ("RS", "RT", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈɹɛks/. Frequency #8,478 among 3,094 “R” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for rex, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "RS", "RT", "RM", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin rēx (“king”), referring originally to rabbits of the Belgian "castorrex" breed, so named because their fur was similar to that of beavers. Entered English around 1920. Doublet of rajah and roy. The correct English form is rex, spelled R-E-X.
Definition
- 1A king, particularly in ancient Rome.
- 2An animal which has a genetic recessive variation that causes the guard hairs to be very short or fully lacking.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how rex appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
And though the sturdy patrician nobility had already gained ground, though the reges attempted gradually to enlarge the scope of their functions—all this does not change the elementary and fundamental character of the constitution, and this alone is essential.
Etymology
From Latin rēx (“king”), referring originally to rabbits of the Belgian "castorrex" breed, so named because their fur was similar to that of beavers. Entered English around 1920. Doublet of rajah and roy.
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 "rex", not the corpus desk frequency band.
What to do next
You've looked up "rex". Here's where to go from here.
- "rex" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "RS". View pair
- Usage frequency rank #8,478 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.