scoundrel
/ˈskaʊ̯ndɹəl/
"scoundrel" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scoundrel” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #38,610 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #38,610
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A mean, worthless fellow; a rascal; a villain; a person without honor or virtue.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | scoundrel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈskaʊ̯ndɹəl/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #38,610 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “scoundrel” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for scoundrel is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈskaʊ̯ndɹəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #38,610 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A mean, worthless fellow; a rascal; a villain; a person without honor or virtue.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for scoundrel, with forms such as "csoundrel", "sccoundrel", and "sconudrel". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier scondrel, scondrell, skoundrell, skowndrell, of unknown origin. Possibly related to northern English or Scottish scunner, skuner, scouner, scunder (“to shrink back in fear, disgust, or loathing”) (Encyclopædia Britannica 1911). The correct English form is scoundrel, spelled S-C-O-U-N-D-R-E-L.
Definition
- 1A mean, worthless fellow; a rascal; a villain; a person without honor or virtue.
Etymology
From earlier scondrel, scondrell, skoundrell, skowndrell, of unknown origin. Possibly related to northern English or Scottish scunner, skuner, scouner, scunder (“to shrink back in fear, disgust, or loathing”) (Encyclopædia Britannica 1911).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: csoundrel,sccoundrel,sconudrel,scoudnrel,scounddrel,scounderl,scoundrell,scoundrle,scoundrrel,scounndrel,scounrdel,scuondrel,socundrel,sscoundrel
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of scoundrel - 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
How do you spell "scoundrel"?
What does "scoundrel" mean?
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Using “scoundrel”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-O-U-N-D-R-E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈskaʊ̯ndɹəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.