sincere

/sɪnˈsɪə(ɹ)/

//sɪnˈsɪə(ɹ)// adj

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

"sincere" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sincere” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,096. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,096
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Genuine; meaning what one says or does; heartfelt.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sincere · sincere · English

sincere · rank #9,096 · 10 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,096
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH skating

Nearest frequency peer: skating (+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 “sincere”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sincere” 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).

sincere vs singer
71% similar
sincere vs sinner
71% similar
sincere vs sinker
71% similar

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

Key facts for sincere
PropertyValue
Headwordsincere
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/sɪnˈsɪə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#9,096
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sincere”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “skating” (#9,097), “sellers” (#9,094), “skiing” (#9,098). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sincere” is #9,096. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around sincere (IPA /sɪnˈsɪə(ɹ)/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #9,096 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for sincere, with forms such as "isncere", "sicnere", and "sinccere". 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 also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "singer", "sinner", "sinker", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French sincere, from Latin sincerus (“genuine”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together”) (whence English sam) + *ḱer- (“grow”) (whence Latin Ceres, the goddess of harvest, etymon of cereal). Not from sine (“without”) + cera (“wax”), a folk e… The correct English form is sincere, spelled S-I-N-C-E-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Genuine; meaning what one says or does; heartfelt.
  2. 2
    Meant truly or earnestly.
  3. 3
    clean; pure

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I believe he is sincere in his offer to help.
  2. Tumid blustering, with more or less of sincerity, which need not be entirely sincere, yet the sincerer the better, is like to go far.

Etymology

From Middle French sincere, from Latin sincerus (“genuine”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together”) (whence English sam) + *ḱer- (“grow”) (whence Latin Ceres, the goddess of harvest, etymon of cereal). Not from sine (“without”) + cera (“wax”), a folk etymology; see Wikipedia page.

Synonyms

earnest

Antonyms

insincere

This word in other languages

sincero(Español)sincère(Français)aufrichtig(Deutsch)sincero(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • isncere
  • sicnere
  • sinccere
  • sinceer
  • sincerre
  • sincree
  • sinecre
  • sinncere
  • snicere
  • ssincere

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

isncere2sicnere2sinccere1sinceer2sincerre1sincree2sinecre2sinncere1
Edit distance from "sincere"

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 "sincere"?
"sincere" is spelled S-I-N-C-E-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪnˈsɪə(ɹ)/.
What does "sincere" mean?
As an adjective, "sincere" means: Genuine; meaning what one says or does; heartfelt.
What words are commonly confused with "sincere"?
"sincere" is commonly confused with "singer", "sinner", "sinker". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sincere"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sincere" is /sɪnˈsɪə(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 "sincere"?
From Middle French sincere, from Latin sincerus (“genuine”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together”) (whence English sam) + *ḱer- (“grow”) (whence Latin Ceres, the goddess of harvest, etymon of cereal). Not from sine (“without”) + cera (“wax”)... 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 "sincere", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

skating#9,097sellers#9,094smashed#9,100renewal#9,087

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

stripped10 variantssupplier10 variantstreason10 variantstyping10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list