struggle

/ˈstɹʌɡəl/

//ˈstɹʌɡəl// noun

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

"struggle" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“struggle” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,408. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,408
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A contortion of the body in an attempt to escape or to perform a difficult task.

Corpus desk

Index EN-struggle · struggle · English

struggle · rank #2,408 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,408
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stream

Nearest frequency peer: stream (-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 “struggle”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “struggle” 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).

struggle vs struggled
89% similar
struggle vs smuggle
75% similar
struggle vs snuggle
75% similar

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

Key facts for struggle
PropertyValue
Headwordstruggle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstɹʌɡəl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,408
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “struggle”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “stream” (#2,407), “suicide” (#2,409), “signal” (#2,406). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “struggle” is #2,408. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around struggle (IPA /ˈstɹʌɡəl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,408 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for struggle, with forms such as "srtuggle", "sstruggle", and "strgugle". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "struggled", "smuggle", "snuggle", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English struglen, stroglen, strogelen, of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots strugil (“to struggle, grapple, contend”). Perhaps from a variant of *strokelen, *stroukelen (> English stroll), from Middle Dutch struyckelen ("to stumble, trip, falte… The correct English form is struggle, spelled S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A contortion of the body in an attempt to escape or to perform a difficult task.
  2. 2
    Strife, contention, great effort.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The struggle with ways and means had recommenced, more difficult now a hundredfold than it had been before, because of their increasing needs. Their income disappeared as a little rivulet that is swallowed by the thirsty ground. He worked night and day to supplement it.
  2. R. Moskowitz charges cisgender readers to be as conscious and deliberate with our religious identities as transgender and gender non-conforming people are with theirs, arguing that holiness is only achieved through continuous and unrelenting struggle and change.

Etymology

From Middle English struglen, stroglen, strogelen, of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots strugil (“to struggle, grapple, contend”). Perhaps from a variant of *strokelen, *stroukelen (> English stroll), from Middle Dutch struyckelen ("to stumble, trip, falter"; > Modern Dutch struikelen), the frequentative form of Old Dutch *strūkon (“to stumble”), from Proto-Germanic *strūkōną, *strūkēną (“to be stiff”), from Proto-Indo-European *strug-, *ster- (“to be stiff; to bristle, strut, stumble, fall”), related to Middle Low German strûkelen ("to stumble"; > Low German strükeln), Old High German strūhhēn, strūhhōn ("to stumble, trip, tumble, go astray"; > German strauchen, straucheln). Alternative etymology derives the base of struggle from Old Norse strúgr (“arrogance, pride, spitefulness, ill-will”) + -le (frequentative suffix), from Proto-Germanic *strūkaz (“stiff, rigid”), ultimately from the same Proto-Indo-European root above, which would make it cognate with dialectal Swedish strug (“contention, strife, discord”), Norwegian stru (“obstinate, unruly”), Danish struende (“reluctantly”), Scots strug (“difficulty, perplexity, a laborious task”).

This word in other languages

lucha(Español)lutte(Français)Kampf(Deutsch)luta(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • srtuggle
  • sstruggle
  • strgugle
  • strruggle
  • struggel
  • strugglle
  • strugle
  • struglge
  • sttruggle
  • sturggle
  • tsruggle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

srtuggle2sstruggle1strgugle2strruggle1struggel2strugglle1strugle1struglge2
Edit distance from "struggle"

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 "struggle"?
"struggle" is spelled S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɹʌɡəl/.
What does "struggle" mean?
As a noun, "struggle" means: A contortion of the body in an attempt to escape or to perform a difficult task.
What words are commonly confused with "struggle"?
"struggle" is commonly confused with "struggled", "smuggle", "snuggle". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "struggle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "struggle" is /ˈstɹʌɡəl/. 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 "struggle"?
From Middle English struglen, stroglen, strogelen, of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots strugil (“to struggle, grapple, contend”). Perhaps from a variant of *strokelen, *stroukelen (> English stroll), from Middle Dutch struyckelen ("to stumble, t... 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 "struggle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Thursday#2,412remained#2,403opposite#2,399vehicles#2,418

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

serving11 variantsmoments11 variantsVirginia11 variantskingdom11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list