siren

/ˈsaɪəɹən/

//ˈsaɪəɹən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“siren” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,909. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,909
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One of a group of nymphs who lured mariners to their death on the rocks.

Corpus desk

Index EN-siren · siren · English

siren · rank #15,909 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,909
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH simplify

Nearest frequency peer: simplify (-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 “siren”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “siren” 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).

siren vs sure
60% similar
siren vs site
60% similar
siren vs size
60% similar

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

Key facts for siren
PropertyValue
Headwordsiren
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsaɪəɹən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#15,909
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “siren”

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).sirenlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “simplify” (#15,908), “slater” (#15,910), “Sicily” (#15,907). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “siren” is #15,909. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around siren (IPA /ˈsaɪəɹən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,909 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for siren, with forms such as "isren", "siern", and "sirenn". 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, "sure", "site", "size", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English siren, from Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, Sīrēna, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). The mammalian sense was first attested in French in Dominique Bouhours, Les entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, in 1671. The aquatic salamander sens… The correct English form is siren, spelled S-I-R-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of a group of nymphs who lured mariners to their death on the rocks.
  2. 2
    One who sings sweetly and charms.
  3. 3
    A dangerously seductive woman.
  4. 4
    A member of Sirenia, an order of mammals.
  5. 5
    A member of a genus of aquatic salamanders of the family Sirenidae, commonly used for all species in the family Sirenidae.
  6. 6
    Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Hestina.
  7. 7
    A device, either mechanical or electronic, that makes a piercingly loud sound as an alarm or signal, or the sound from such a device.
  8. 8
    A musical instrument, one of the few aerophones in the percussion section of the symphony orchestra (patented as Acme Siren in 1895).
  9. 9
    An instrument for demonstrating the laws of beats and combination tones.
  10. 10
    An astrophysical event that can be used for calculating cosmic distances.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Now give ear to what I'm about to say to you , and a god himself will bring it before your mind . First , you will come to the Sirens . These beings enthrall all men who arrive before them . Whoever draws near without knowledge and ...
  2. My attention was diverted from this sight by a furious yelling, like that of the thing called a siren in our manufacturing towns.

Etymology

From Middle English siren, from Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, Sīrēna, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). The mammalian sense was first attested in French in Dominique Bouhours, Les entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, in 1671. The aquatic salamander sense was originally introduced by Linnaeus in 1766, for a genus of his reptiles.

Synonyms

croonervampklaxon

This word in other languages

sirena(Español)sirène(Français)Sirene(Deutsch)sereia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • isren
  • siern
  • sirenn
  • sirne
  • sirren
  • srien
  • ssiren

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

isren2siern2sirenn1sirne2sirren1srien2ssiren1
Edit distance from "siren"

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 "siren"?
"siren" is spelled S-I-R-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsaɪəɹən/.
What does "siren" mean?
As a noun, "siren" means: One of a group of nymphs who lured mariners to their death on the rocks.
What words are commonly confused with "siren"?
"siren" is commonly confused with "sure", "site", "size". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "siren"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "siren" is /ˈsaɪəɹən/. 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 "siren"?
From Middle English siren, from Old French sereine and Latin Sīrēn, Sīrēna, from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn). The mammalian sense was first attested in French in Dominique Bouhours, Les entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, in 1671. The aquatic salam... 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 "siren", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

smear#15,912snowy#15,913Rubio#15,900stalk#15,919

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

swine7 variantspenal7 variantsNYPD7 variantsgrail7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list