satire
/ˈsætaɪɹ/
"satire" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“satire” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,136 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #12,136
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 18
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A literary device of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change or highlighting a shortcoming in the work of another. Imitat...
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 | satire |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsætaɪɹ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #12,136 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 18 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “satire” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for satire is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsætaɪɹ/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,136 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for satire, with forms such as "astire", "saitre", and "satier". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "stir", "sire", "store", 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 Middle French satire, from Old French, from Latin satira, from earlier satura, from lanx satura (“full dish”), from feminine of satur. Altered in Latin by influence of Ancient Greek σάτυρος (sáturos, “satyr”), on the mistaken notion that the form is re… The correct English form is satire, spelled S-A-T-I-R-E.
Definition
- 1A literary device of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change or highlighting a shortcoming in the work of another. Imitation, humor, irony, and exaggeration are often used to aid this.
- 2A satirical work.
- 3Severity of remark.
Etymology
From Middle French satire, from Old French, from Latin satira, from earlier satura, from lanx satura (“full dish”), from feminine of satur. Altered in Latin by influence of Ancient Greek σάτυρος (sáturos, “satyr”), on the mistaken notion that the form is related to the Greek σατυρικὸν δράμα (saturikòn dráma, “satyr drama”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: astire,saitre,satier,satirre,satrie,sattire,ssatire,staire
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of satire - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “satire”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-A-T-I-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsætaɪɹ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “stir” - see the side-by-side comparison. satire vs stir
- 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.