stylus
/ˈstaɪ.ləs/
"stylus" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“stylus” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,389 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #28,389
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An ancient writing implement consisting of a small rod with a pointed end for scratching letters on clay, wax-covered tablets or other surfaces, and a blunt end for obliterating them.
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 | stylus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈstaɪ.ləs/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #28,389 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “stylus” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for stylus is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈstaɪ.ləs/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,389 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for stylus, with forms such as "sstylus", "stlyus", and "sttylus". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "style", "status", "styled", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin stylus (“a stake or pale”). Probably not directly related to Ancient Greek στῦλος (stûlos, “a pillar”). Doublet of style. The correct English form is stylus, spelled S-T-Y-L-U-S.
Definition
- 1An ancient writing implement consisting of a small rod with a pointed end for scratching letters on clay, wax-covered tablets or other surfaces, and a blunt end for obliterating them.
- 2An ancient writing implement consisting of a small rod with a pointed end for scratching letters on clay, wax-covered tablets or other surfaces, and a blunt end for obliterating them.
- 3An ancient writing implement consisting of a small rod with a pointed end for scratching letters on clay, wax-covered tablets or other surfaces, and a blunt end for obliterating them.
- 4A hard-pointed pen-shaped instrument for marking on stencils used in a mimeograph machine.
- 5A hard point, typically of diamond or sapphire, following a groove in a phonograph and transmitting the recorded sound for reproduction.
- 6A hard point, typically of diamond or sapphire, following a groove in a phonograph and transmitting the recorded sound for reproduction.
- 7A tool for making small dots on a piece of heavy paper, used to produce Braille writing for the blind by hand.
- 8Synonym of style.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin stylus (“a stake or pale”). Probably not directly related to Ancient Greek στῦλος (stûlos, “a pillar”). Doublet of style.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: sstylus,stlyus,sttylus,styllus,stylsu,styluss,styuls,styylus,sytlus,tsylus
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stylus - 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "stylus"?
What does "stylus" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "stylus"?
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Using “stylus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-T-Y-L-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈstaɪ.ləs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “style” - see the side-by-side comparison. stylus vs style
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.