strife

/stɹaɪf/

//stɹaɪf// noun

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

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

The verdict

“strife” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,254. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,254
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Striving; earnest endeavor; hard work.

Corpus desk

Index EN-strife · strife · English

strife · rank #17,254 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,254
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stylist

Nearest frequency peer: stylist (+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 “strife”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “strife” 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).

strife vs strip
67% similar
strife vs strike
83% similar
strife vs string
67% similar

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

Key facts for strife
PropertyValue
Headwordstrife
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɹaɪf/
Letters6
Frequency rank#17,254
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “strife”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).strifelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “stylist” (#17,255), “startling” (#17,252), “tattooed” (#17,258). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “strife” is #17,254. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around strife (IPA /stɹaɪf/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,254 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 strife, with forms such as "srtife", "sstrife", and "stirfe". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "strip", "strike", "string", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English strif, stryf, striffe, from Old French estrif, noun derived from estriver, from Frankish *strīban; compare Dutch strijven. More at strive. The correct English form is strife, spelled S-T-R-I-F-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Striving; earnest endeavor; hard work.
  2. 2
    Exertion or contention for superiority, either by physical or intellectual means.
  3. 3
    Bitter conflict, sometimes violent.
  4. 4
    A trouble of any kind.
  5. 5
    That which is contended against; occasion of contest.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
  2. Hee is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions, and ſtrifes of wordes,[…]

Etymology

From Middle English strif, stryf, striffe, from Old French estrif, noun derived from estriver, from Frankish *strīban; compare Dutch strijven. More at strive.

Synonyms

conflictcontentiondiscorddissensionstruggle

This word in other languages

disensión(Español)différends(Français)Streit(Deutsch)conflito(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • srtife
  • sstrife
  • stirfe
  • strfie
  • strief
  • striffe
  • strrife
  • sttrife
  • tsrife

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

srtife2sstrife1stirfe2strfie2strief2striffe1strrife1sttrife1
Edit distance from "strife"

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 "strife"?
"strife" is spelled S-T-R-I-F-E. The IPA pronunciation is /stɹaɪf/.
What does "strife" mean?
As a noun, "strife" means: Striving; earnest endeavor; hard work.
What words are commonly confused with "strife"?
"strife" is commonly confused with "strip", "strike", "string". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "strife"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "strife" is /stɹaɪf/. 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 "strife"?
From Middle English strif, stryf, striffe, from Old French estrif, noun derived from estriver, from Frankish *strīban; compare Dutch strijven. More at strive. 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 "strife", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

thrift#17,260smiley#17,247uterus#17,265sherry#17,241

Similar misspelling depth

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

tattooed9 variantsscrape9 variantswomens9 variantsAbrams9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list