solitary
/ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/
"solitary" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“solitary” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,771 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #10,771
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchorite, hermit or recluse.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | solitary |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #10,771 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “solitary” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for solitary is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,771 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for solitary, with forms such as "oslitary", "sloitary", and "soiltary". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "sanitary", "salivary", "solitaire", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English solitarie, borrowed from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitaire. The correct English form is solitary, spelled S-O-L-I-T-A-R-Y.
Definition
- 1One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchorite, hermit or recluse.
- 2Ellipsis of solitary confinement.
- 3The state of being solitary; solitude
Etymology
From Middle English solitarie, borrowed from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitaire.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: oslitary,sloitary,soiltary,soliatry,solitarry,solitaryy,solitayr,solitray,solittary,sollitary,soltiary,ssolitary
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of solitary - 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.
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
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Using “solitary”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-O-L-I-T-A-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “sanitary” - see the side-by-side comparison. solitary vs sanitary
- 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.