social

/ˈsəʊ.ʃəl/

//ˈsəʊ.ʃəl// adj

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

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

The verdict

“social” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #367 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#367
frequency rank, English
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Being extroverted or outgoing.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

social vs soil
67% similar
social vs Sofia
50% similar
social vs socio
67% similar

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

Key facts for social
PropertyValue
Headwordsocial
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsəʊ.ʃəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#367
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “social” 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). social lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for social is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsəʊ.ʃəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #367 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for social, with forms such as "oscial", "scoial", and "socail". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "soil", "Sofia", "socio", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French social, from Latin sociālis (“of or belonging to a companion or companionship or association, social”), from socius (“a companion, fellow, partner, associate, ally”), from sequor (“follow”). Cognate with English seg (“man, companion, fell… The correct English form is social, spelled S-O-C-I-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Being extroverted or outgoing.
  2. 2
    Of or relating to society.
  3. 3
    Relating to social media or social networks.
  4. 4
    Relating to a nation's allies.
  5. 5
    Cooperating or growing in groups.

Etymology

From Middle French social, from Latin sociālis (“of or belonging to a companion or companionship or association, social”), from socius (“a companion, fellow, partner, associate, ally”), from sequor (“follow”). Cognate with English seg (“man, companion, fellow”). More at seg.

Antonyms

antisocialunsocialasocial

This word in other languages

social(Español)social(Français)kontaktfreudig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: oscial,scoial,socail,soccial,sociall,socila,soical,ssocial

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

oscial2scoial2socail2soccial1sociall1socila2soical2ssocial1
Edit distance from "social"

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 "social"?
"social" is spelled S-O-C-I-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsəʊ.ʃəl/.
What does "social" mean?
As an adjective, "social" means: Being extroverted or outgoing.
What words are commonly confused with "social"?
"social" is commonly confused with "soil", "Sofia", "socio". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "social"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "social" is /ˈsəʊ.ʃəl/. 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 "social"?
From Middle French social, from Latin sociālis (“of or belonging to a companion or companionship or association, social”), from socius (“a companion, fellow, partner, associate, ally”), from sequor (“follow”). Cognate with English seg (“man, compa... 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.

Using “social”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-O-C-I-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈsəʊ.ʃəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “soil” - see the side-by-side comparison. social vs soil
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list