spleen
/spliːn/
"spleen" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“spleen” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,321. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #24,321
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 14
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In vertebrates, including humans, a ductless vascular gland, located in the left upper abdomen near the stomach, which destroys old red blood cells, removes debris from the bloodstream, acts as a r...
Corpus desk
Index EN-spleen · spleen · English
spleen · rank #24,321 · 9 variants · 14 confusables
- FREQ-MID #24,321
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH speciality
Nearest frequency peer: speciality (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “spleen”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- sorcery
sorcery
75,684 corpus weight
- spades
spades
75,683 corpus weight
- speciality
speciality
75,681 corpus weight
- spleen
spleen
75,680 corpus weight
- starlight
starlight
75,679 corpus weight
- steadfast
steadfast
75,678 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “spleen” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | spleen |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /spliːn/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #24,321 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 14 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “spleen” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around spleen (IPA /spliːn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,321 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for spleen, with forms such as "psleen", "slpeen", and "spelen". 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 14 confusable-pair relationships, "spree", "steen", "spoken", 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 splene, splen, from Anglo-Norman espleen and Old French esplein, esplen, from Latin splēn (“milt”), from Ancient Greek σπλήν (splḗn, “the spleen”). Doublet of lien. Partially displaced the native English term milt. The correct English form is spleen, spelled S-P-L-E-E-N.
Definition
- 1In vertebrates, including humans, a ductless vascular gland, located in the left upper abdomen near the stomach, which destroys old red blood cells, removes debris from the bloodstream, acts as a reservoir of blood, and produces lymphocytes.
- 2A bad mood; spitefulness. Compare gall.
- 3A sudden motion or action; a fit; a freak; a whim.
- 4Melancholy; hypochondriacal affections.
- 5A fit of immoderate laughter or merriment.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how spleen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In noble minds some dregs remain, / Not yet purged off, of spleen and sour disdain.
Too many, however, who might take an honourable stand, fear the petty spleen of the plantocracy; preferring the most disgusting adulation, to the blessing of him ready to perish.
Etymology
From Middle English splene, splen, from Anglo-Norman espleen and Old French esplein, esplen, from Latin splēn (“milt”), from Ancient Greek σπλήν (splḗn, “the spleen”). Doublet of lien. Partially displaced the native English term milt.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- psleen
- slpeen
- spelen
- spleenn
- splen
- splene
- splleen
- sppleen
- sspleen
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spleen - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "spleen", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "spleen". Here's where to go from here.
- "spleen" maps to 14 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "spree". View pair
- 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #24,321 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.