smiley

/ˈsmaɪli/

//ˈsmaɪli// adj

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

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

The verdict

“smiley” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,247. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,247
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Cheerful and happy; smiling.

Corpus desk

Index EN-smiley · smiley · English

smiley · rank #17,247 · 9 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,247
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sly

Nearest frequency peer: sly (-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 “smiley”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “smiley” 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).

smiley vs smite
67% similar
smiley vs smokey
67% similar
smiley vs soiled
67% similar

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

Key facts for smiley
PropertyValue
Headwordsmiley
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsmaɪli/
Letters6
Frequency rank#17,247
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “smiley”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).smileylands 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 “sly” (#17,246), “Smithsonian” (#17,248), “Slovakia” (#17,245). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “smiley” is #17,247. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around smiley (IPA /ˈsmaɪli/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #17,247 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for smiley, with forms such as "msiley", "simley", and "smiely". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "smite", "smokey", "soiled", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From smile + -y (adjectival suffix). The noun is from the adjective, after smiley face. The correct English form is smiley, spelled S-M-I-L-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cheerful and happy; smiling.
  2. 2
    Having one's throat slit from side to side.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. have a smiley demeanor
  2. a very smiley girl

Etymology

From smile + -y (adjectival suffix). The noun is from the adjective, after smiley face.

This word in other languages

sonriente(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • msiley
  • simley
  • smiely
  • smileyy
  • smilley
  • smilye
  • smliey
  • smmiley
  • ssmiley

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

msiley2simley2smiely2smileyy1smilley1smilye2smliey2smmiley1
Edit distance from "smiley"

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 "smiley"?
"smiley" is spelled S-M-I-L-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsmaɪli/.
What does "smiley" mean?
As an adjective, "smiley" means: Cheerful and happy; smiling.
What words are commonly confused with "smiley"?
"smiley" is commonly confused with "smite", "smokey", "soiled". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "smiley"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "smiley" is /ˈsmaɪli/. 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 "smiley"?
From smile + -y (adjectival suffix). The noun is from the adjective, after smiley face. 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 "smiley", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sherry#17,241strife#17,254scrape#17,236Sahara#17,234

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

tattooed9 variantswomens9 variantsAbrams9 variantsAntoine9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list