svengali

/svɛŋˈɡɑːli/

//svɛŋˈɡɑːli// noun

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

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

The verdict

“svengali” is uncommon English (frequency #89,970 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,970
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who manipulates or controls another as by some mesmeric or sinister influence; especially a coach, mentor or industry mogul.

Corpus desk

Index EN-svengali · svengali · English

svengali · rank #89,970 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,970
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Takano

Nearest frequency peer: Takano (+2 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 “svengali”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “svengali” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for svengali
PropertyValue
Headwordsvengali
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/svɛŋˈɡɑːli/
Letters8
Frequency rank#89,970
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “svengali” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).svengalifalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Takano” (#89,972), “talky” (#89,973), “Tallman” (#89,974). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “svengali” is #89,970. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

svengali is uncommon English at frequency #89,970 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /svɛŋˈɡɑːli/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One who manipulates or controls another as by some mesmeric or sinister influence; especially a coach, mentor or industry mogul.".

svengali has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Named for the hypnotist character Svengali in George du Maurier's novel Trilby. More at citations. The correct English form is svengali, spelled S-V-E-N-G-A-L-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who manipulates or controls another as by some mesmeric or sinister influence; especially a coach, mentor or industry mogul.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She also offers a fascinating glimpse into a more innocent age before svengalis began colluding with marketing men and TV execs to promote talentless wannabes to overnight success.
  2. The Tam Paton of today is nothing like the fearsome Svengali you would see on television during the Roller years. (It is used in multiple other occasions in this book)

Etymology

Named for the hypnotist character Svengali in George du Maurier's novel Trilby. More at citations.

This word in other languages

Strippenzieher(Deutsch)

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 "svengali"?
"svengali" is spelled S-V-E-N-G-A-L-I. The IPA pronunciation is /svɛŋˈɡɑːli/.
What does "svengali" mean?
As a noun, "svengali" means: One who manipulates or controls another as by some mesmeric or sinister influence; especially a coach, mentor or industry mogul.
How do you pronounce "svengali"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "svengali" is /svɛŋˈɡɑːli/. 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 "svengali"?
Named for the hypnotist character Svengali in George du Maurier's novel Trilby. More at citations. 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 "svengali", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

suborder#89,953Timebomb#89,993stakeout#89,940Toontown#90,000

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list