syntax

/ˈsɪn.tæks/

//ˈsɪn.tæks// noun

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

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

The verdict

“syntax” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,432. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,432
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences.

Corpus desk

Index EN-syntax · syntax · English

syntax · rank #14,432 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,432
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH swore

Nearest frequency peer: swore (-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 “syntax”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “syntax” 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).

syntax vs synth
67% similar
syntax vs Santa
50% similar

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

Key facts for syntax
PropertyValue
Headwordsyntax
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɪn.tæks/
Letters6
Frequency rank#14,432
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “syntax”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “swore” (#14,431), “tad” (#14,433), “swearing” (#14,430). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “syntax” is #14,432. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around syntax (IPA /ˈsɪn.tæks/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,432 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for syntax, with forms such as "snytax", "ssyntax", and "synatx". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "synth", "Santa", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Partly from Late Latin syntaxis and partly from its etymon, Ancient Greek σύνταξις (súntaxis), from σύν (sún, “together”) + τάξις (táxis, “arrangement”), from τάσσω (tássō, “I arrange”). Doublet of syntaxis. The correct English form is syntax, spelled S-Y-N-T-A-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    A set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences.
  2. 2
    The formal rules of formulating the statements of a computer language.
  3. 3
    The study of the structure of phrases, sentences, and language.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The incorporation of a rule of V MOVEMENT into our description of English Syntax turns out to have fundamental theoretical implications for our overall Theory of Grammar: it means that we are no longer able to posit that the syntactic structure of a sentence can be described in terms of a single Phrase-marker representing its S-structure. For, the postula…
  2. [Otto] Jespersen, a language professor known for his expertise in syntax and language development, stated that headlinese is not really grammatical writing.

Etymology

Partly from Late Latin syntaxis and partly from its etymon, Ancient Greek σύνταξις (súntaxis), from σύν (sún, “together”) + τάξις (táxis, “arrangement”), from τάσσω (tássō, “I arrange”). Doublet of syntaxis.

Synonyms

syntaxis

This word in other languages

sintaxis(Español)syntaxe(Français)Syntax(Deutsch)sintaxe(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • snytax
  • ssyntax
  • synatx
  • synntax
  • syntaxx
  • synttax
  • syntxa
  • sytnax
  • syyntax
  • ysntax

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of syntax - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

snytax2ssyntax1synatx2synntax1syntaxx1synttax1syntxa2sytnax2
Edit distance from "syntax"

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 "syntax"?
"syntax" is spelled S-Y-N-T-A-X. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪn.tæks/.
What does "syntax" mean?
As a noun, "syntax" means: A set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences.
What words are commonly confused with "syntax"?
"syntax" is commonly confused with "synth", "Santa". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "syntax"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "syntax" is /ˈsɪn.tæks/. 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 "syntax"?
Partly from Late Latin syntaxis and partly from its etymon, Ancient Greek σύνταξις (súntaxis), from σύν (sún, “together”) + τάξις (táxis, “arrangement”), from τάσσω (tássō, “I arrange”). Doublet of syntaxis. 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 "syntax", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

tandem#14,434tasked#14,435subset#14,427spooky#14,420

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

timeless10 variantssnatch10 variantssevered10 variantsSerbian10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list