shrift

/ʃɹɪft/

//ʃɹɪft// noun

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

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

The verdict

“shrift” is uncommon English (frequency #72,762 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,762
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of going to or hearing a religious confession.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shrift · shrift · English

shrift · rank #72,762 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,762
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Shreve

Nearest frequency peer: Shreve (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “shrift”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “shrift” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for shrift
PropertyValue
Headwordshrift
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʃɹɪft/
Letters6
Frequency rank#72,762
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “shrift” in English

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Shreve” (#72,761), “SIGINT” (#72,763), “silversmith” (#72,764). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shrift” is #72,762. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

shrift is uncommon English at frequency #72,762 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ʃɹɪft/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for shrift in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English shrift (“confession to a priest; act or instance of this; sacrament of penance; penance assigned by a priest; penitence, repentance; punishment for sin”) [and other forms], from Old English sċrift (“penance, shrift; something prescribed … The correct English form is shrift, spelled S-H-R-I-F-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of going to or hearing a religious confession.
  2. 2
    Confession to a priest.
  3. 3
    Forgiveness given by a priest after confession; remission.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. For seldom did she go to chapel-shrift, / And seldom felt she any hunger-pain; [...]
  2. [Friar:] Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift. / Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift.

Etymology

From Middle English shrift (“confession to a priest; act or instance of this; sacrament of penance; penance assigned by a priest; penitence, repentance; punishment for sin”) [and other forms], from Old English sċrift (“penance, shrift; something prescribed as punishment, penalty; one who passes sentence, a judge”), from sċrīfan (“of a priest: to prescribe absolution or penance; to pass judgment, ordain, prescribe; to appoint, decree”) (whence shrive), from Proto-Germanic *skrībaną (“to write”), from Latin scrībō (“to write”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ- (“to scratch, tear”). Equivalent to shrive + -t.

This word in other languages

Beichte(Deutsch)

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 "shrift"?
"shrift" is spelled S-H-R-I-F-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃɹɪft/.
What does "shrift" mean?
As a noun, "shrift" means: The act of going to or hearing a religious confession.
How do you pronounce "shrift"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shrift" is /ʃɹɪft/. 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 "shrift"?
From Middle English shrift (“confession to a priest; act or instance of this; sacrament of penance; penance assigned by a priest; penitence, repentance; punishment for sin”) [and other forms], from Old English sċrift (“penance, shrift; something p... 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 "shrift", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Shreve#72,761SIGINT#72,763Shayna#72,756Solvay#72,777

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list