ruffian
/ˈɹʌfi.ən/
"ruffian" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ruffian” is uncommon English (frequency #62,467 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #62,467
- frequency rank, English
- 3,094
- “R” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A scoundrel, rascal, or unprincipled, deceitful, brutal and unreliable person.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ruffian · ruffian · English
ruffian · rank #62,467 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #62,467
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,094
- PHOTO-FINISH ROV
Nearest frequency peer: ROV (-2 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.
Long-tail ranks near “ruffian”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- rosacea
rosacea
37,537 corpus weight
- ROV
ROV
37,536 corpus weight
- ruffian
ruffian
37,534 corpus weight
- sacre
sacre
37,531 corpus weight
- Sakhalin
Sakhalin
37,530 corpus weight
- Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin
37,528 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “ruffian” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ruffian |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹʌfi.ən/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #62,467 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ruffian” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ruffian is uncommon English at frequency #62,467 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɹʌfi.ən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for ruffian in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French rufian, from Italian ruffiano (“pimp”). The correct English form is ruffian, spelled R-U-F-F-I-A-N.
Definition
- 1A scoundrel, rascal, or unprincipled, deceitful, brutal and unreliable person.
- 2A pimp; a pander.
- 3A lover; a paramour.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ruffian appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
What wilt thou on thy death-bed play the Ruffian?
It was at Count Siloszech's. He'd heard her sing in the streets, with a tall, black-bearded ruffian, who accompanied her on a guitar, and a little fiddling gypsy fellow. She was a handsome woman, with hair down to her knees, but stupid as an owl.
Etymology
From Middle French rufian, from Italian ruffiano (“pimp”).
This word in other languages
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 "ruffian", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).