scold

/skəʊld/

//skəʊld// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"scold" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“scold” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,752. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,752
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who habitually scolds, in particular a troublesome and angry woman.

Corpus desk

Index EN-scold · scold · English

scold · rank #36,752 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #36,752
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH seducing

Nearest frequency peer: seducing (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “scold”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “scold” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

scold vs sol
60% similar
scold vs sod
60% similar
scold vs sold
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for scold
PropertyValue
Headwordscold
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/skəʊld/
Letters5
Frequency rank#36,752
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “scold”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).scoldlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “seducing” (#36,753), “scaly” (#36,750), “senpai” (#36,754). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “scold” is #36,752. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around scold (IPA /skəʊld/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #36,752 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A person who habitually scolds, in particular a troublesome and angry woman.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for scold, with forms such as "csold", "sccold", and "sclod". 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, "sol", "sod", "sold", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is from Middle English scold(e), skald(e), first attested in the 12th or 13th century (as scold, scolde, skolde, skald). The verb is from Middle English scolden, first attested in the late 1300s. Most dictionaries derive the verb from the noun and … The correct English form is scold, spelled S-C-O-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who habitually scolds, in particular a troublesome and angry woman.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how scold appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A ſclaunderous tunge, a tunge of a ſkolde, Worketh more miſchiefe than can be tolde; That, if I wiſt not to be controlde, Yet ſomwhat to ſay I dare well be bolde,
  2. “Well, I won’t have it, and that’s enough.” She laughed, for her voice had a little been that of the professional scold.

Etymology

The noun is from Middle English scold(e), skald(e), first attested in the 12th or 13th century (as scold, scolde, skolde, skald). The verb is from Middle English scolden, first attested in the late 1300s. Most dictionaries derive the verb from the noun and say the noun is probably from Old Norse skald (“poet”) (cognate with Icelandic skáld (“poet, scop”)), as skalds sometimes wrote insulting poems, though another view is that the Norse and English words are cognate to each other and to Old High German skeltan (whence Modern German schelten (“to scold, chide”)), Old Dutch skeldan (whence Modern Dutch schelden (“to scold, berate”)), all inherited from Proto-Germanic *skeldaną (“scold”).

Synonyms

shrew

This word in other languages

chipie(Français)Beißzange(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • csold
  • sccold
  • sclod
  • scodl
  • scoldd
  • scolld
  • socld
  • sscold

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of scold - 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.

csold2sccold1sclod2scodl2scoldd1scolld1socld2sscold1
Edit distance from "scold"

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

How do you spell "scold"?
"scold" is spelled S-C-O-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /skəʊld/.
What does "scold" mean?
As a noun, "scold" means: A person who habitually scolds, in particular a troublesome and angry woman.
What words are commonly confused with "scold"?
"scold" is commonly confused with "sol", "sod", "sold". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "scold"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scold" is /skəʊld/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "scold"?
The noun is from Middle English scold(e), skald(e), first attested in the 12th or 13th century (as scold, scolde, skolde, skald). The verb is from Middle English scolden, first attested in the late 1300s. Most dictionaries derive the verb from the... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "scold", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

scaly#36,750salve#36,747Tonya#36,790Ozzie#36,698

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

senpai8 variantssalter8 variantsretiree8 variantstaboos8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list