starched
"starched" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“starched” is uncommon English (frequency #68,659 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #68,659
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of a garment: having had starch applied.
Corpus desk
Index EN-starched · starched · English
starched · rank #68,659 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #68,659
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH stargazer
Nearest frequency peer: stargazer (+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.
Long-tail ranks near “starched”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Soraya
Soraya
31,347 corpus weight
- soupy
soupy
31,346 corpus weight
- splashy
splashy
31,344 corpus weight
- starched
starched
31,342 corpus weight
- stargazer
stargazer
31,341 corpus weight
- statecraft
statecraft
31,340 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “starched” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | starched |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #68,659 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “starched” in English
Rare enough to double-check
starched is uncommon English at frequency #68,659 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for starched, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is starched, spelled S-T-A-R-C-H-E-D.
Definition
- 1Of a garment: having had starch applied.
- 2Stiff, formal, rigid; prim and proper.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how starched appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I recall the height of comfort attained by the green-cushioned "first" with starched white antimacassars and a pretentious grey floor mat on which it seemed a sacrilege to stand, as it was embellished with the North Western conception of Britannia, complete with trident.
And while his signature starched collar and fingerless gloves are yet to make an appearance, his looks are already topped off with another of his soon-to-be trademarks: a pair of dark aviator sunglasses.
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.
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "starched", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).