sprite

/spɹaɪt/

//spɹaɪt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sprite” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,824. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,824
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various supernatural beings, loosely defined:

Corpus desk

Index EN-sprite · sprite · English

sprite · rank #22,824 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,824
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sprinter

Nearest frequency peer: sprinter (-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 “sprite”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sprite” 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).

sprite vs suite
67% similar
sprite vs strike
67% similar
sprite vs strive
67% similar

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

Key facts for sprite
PropertyValue
Headwordsprite
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spɹaɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#22,824
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sprite”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).spritelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “sprinter” (#22,823), “stagnation” (#22,825), “sprawling” (#22,822). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sprite” is #22,824. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sprite (IPA /spɹaɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,824 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sprite, with forms such as "psrite", "spirte", and "spprite". 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, "suite", "strike", "strive", 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 sprite, spryt, spreyte, from Old French esprit (“spirit”), from Latin spīritus. Doublet of spirit, spiritus, spirytus, spright, and esprit. (computer graphics): First used by Danny Hillis at Texas Instruments in the late 1970s. (meteorol… The correct English form is sprite, spelled S-P-R-I-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various supernatural beings, loosely defined:
  2. 2
    Any of various supernatural beings, loosely defined:
  3. 3
    Any of various supernatural beings, loosely defined:
  4. 4
    A two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene.
  5. 5
    A large electrical discharge that occurs high above the cumulonimbus cloud of an active thunderstorm, which appears as a luminous red or orange flash.
  6. 6
    The green woodpecker, or yaffle (Picus viridis).
  7. 7
    Any of various African damselflies of the genus Pseudagrion (of which, Australian species are named riverdamsels).
  8. 8
    A spayed female ferret.
  9. 9
    Alternative form of spright (“frame of mind, disposition”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. He who torments the chafer's sprite Weaves a bower in endless night.

Etymology

From Middle English sprite, spryt, spreyte, from Old French esprit (“spirit”), from Latin spīritus. Doublet of spirit, spiritus, spirytus, spright, and esprit. (computer graphics): First used by Danny Hillis at Texas Instruments in the late 1970s. (meteorology): An acronym for Stratospheric Perturbations Resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification.

Synonyms

goblin

This word in other languages

farfadet(Français)Geist(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psrite
  • spirte
  • spprite
  • spriet
  • spritte
  • sprrite
  • sprtie
  • srpite
  • ssprite

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sprite - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

psrite2spirte2spprite1spriet2spritte1sprrite1sprtie2srpite2
Edit distance from "sprite"

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 "sprite"?
"sprite" is spelled S-P-R-I-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /spɹaɪt/.
What does "sprite" mean?
As a noun, "sprite" means: Any of various supernatural beings, loosely defined:
What words are commonly confused with "sprite"?
"sprite" is commonly confused with "suite", "strike", "strive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sprite"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sprite" is /spɹaɪt/. 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 "sprite"?
From Middle English sprite, spryt, spreyte, from Old French esprit (“spirit”), from Latin spīritus. Doublet of spirit, spiritus, spirytus, spright, and esprit. (computer graphics): First used by Danny Hillis at Texas Instruments in the late 1970s.... 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 "sprite", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sorely#22,821stinks#22,827Sumner#22,831sneeze#22,816

Similar misspelling depth

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

shopper9 variantstracer9 variantsriddled9 variantswatery9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list