secure

/sɪˈkjʊə(ɹ)/

//sɪˈkjʊə(ɹ)// adj

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

"secure" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“secure” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,315. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,315
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Free from attack or danger; protected.

Corpus desk

Index EN-secure · secure · English

secure · rank #2,315 · 8 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,315
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 54,294
  • PHOTO-FINISH sat

Nearest frequency peer: sat (-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 “secure”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “secure” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

secure vs sure
67% similar
secure vs segue
67% similar
secure vs severe
67% similar

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

Key facts for secure
PropertyValue
Headwordsecure
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/sɪˈkjʊə(ɹ)/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,315
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “secure” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). secure lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around secure (IPA /sɪˈkjʊə(ɹ)/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,315 among 54,294 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for secure, with forms such as "escure", "sceure", and "seccure". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "sure", "segue", "severe", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin sēcūrus (“of persons, free from care, quiet, easy; in a bad sense, careless, reckless; of things, tranquil, also free from danger, safe, secure”), from sē- (“without”) + cūra (“care”); see cure. Doublet of sure and the now obsolete or di… The correct English form is secure, spelled S-E-C-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Free from attack or danger; protected.
  2. 2
    Free from the danger of theft; safe.
  3. 3
    Free from the risk of eavesdropping, interception or discovery; secret.
  4. 4
    Free from anxiety or doubt; unafraid.
  5. 5
    Firm and not likely to fail; stable.
  6. 6
    Free from the risk of financial loss; reliable.
  7. 7
    Confident in opinion; not entertaining, or not having reason to entertain, doubt; certain; sure; commonly used with of.
  8. 8
    Overconfident; incautious; careless.
  9. 9
    Certain to be achieved or gained; assured.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The vast majority of American Jews not only greatly dislike President Trump but also believe he has made them less safe: according to a May 2019 poll, nearly three-quarters of Jewish voters believe American Jews are less secure under Trump than they were before, 71 percent disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance, and nearly 60 percent believe that h…
  2. But thou, secure of soul, unbent with woes.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sēcūrus (“of persons, free from care, quiet, easy; in a bad sense, careless, reckless; of things, tranquil, also free from danger, safe, secure”), from sē- (“without”) + cūra (“care”); see cure. Doublet of sure and the now obsolete or dialectal sicker (“certain, safe”).

Antonyms

insecure

This word in other languages

seguro(Español)sûr(Français)sicher(Deutsch)seguro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • escure
  • sceure
  • seccure
  • secrue
  • secuer
  • securre
  • seucre
  • ssecure

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of secure - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

escure2sceure2seccure1secrue2secuer2securre1seucre2ssecure1
Edit distance from "secure"

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 May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "secure"?
"secure" is spelled S-E-C-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪˈkjʊə(ɹ)/.
What does "secure" mean?
As an adjective, "secure" means: Free from attack or danger; protected.
What words are commonly confused with "secure"?
"secure" is commonly confused with "sure", "segue", "severe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "secure"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "secure" is /sɪˈkjʊə(ɹ)/. 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 "secure"?
Borrowed from Latin sēcūrus (“of persons, free from care, quiet, easy; in a bad sense, careless, reckless; of things, tranquil, also free from danger, safe, secure”), from sē- (“without”) + cūra (“care”); see cure. Doublet of sure and the now obso... 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 "secure", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

talent#2,318troops#2,322lights#2,303ladies#2,301

Similar misspelling depth

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

truck8 variantsfilms8 variantsescape8 variantsdying8 variants
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list