terror

/ˈtɛɹ.ɚ/

//ˈtɛɹ.ɚ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“terror” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,637. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,637
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Intense dread, fright, or fear.

Corpus desk

Index EN-terror · terror · English

terror · rank #4,637 · 7 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,637
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ted

Nearest frequency peer: Ted (-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 “terror”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “terror” 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).

terror vs terry
67% similar
terror vs terra
67% similar
terror vs tenor
67% similar

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

Key facts for terror
PropertyValue
Headwordterror
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɛɹ.ɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,637
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “terror”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).terrorlands 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 “Ted” (#4,636), “uh” (#4,638), “stays” (#4,635). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “terror” is #4,637. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around terror (IPA /ˈtɛɹ.ɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,637 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for terror, with forms such as "etrror", "teror", and "terorr". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "terry", "terra", "tenor", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tres- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *troséyeti Proto-Italic *trozeō Latin terreō Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *-ōs Proto-Italic *-ōs Lat… The correct English form is terror, spelled T-E-R-R-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Intense dread, fright, or fear.
  2. 2
    The action or quality of causing dread; terribleness, especially such qualities in narrative fiction.
  3. 3
    Something or someone that causes such fear.
  4. 4
    Terrorism.
  5. 5
    A night terror.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The terrors with which I was seized […] were extreme.
  2. "How thinkest thou that I rule this people? I have but a regiment of guards to do my bidding, therefore it is not by force. It is by terror. My empire is of the imagination."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tres- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *troséyeti Proto-Italic *trozeō Latin terreō Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *-ōs Proto-Italic *-ōs Latin -or Latin terrorbor. Old French terreur Middle French terreurbor. Middle English terrour English terror From late Middle English terrour, from Old French terreur f (“terror, fear, dread”), from Latin terror m (“fright, fear, terror”), from terrēre (“to frighten, terrify”), from Old Latin tr̥reō, from Proto-Italic *trozeō, from Proto-Indo-European *tre- (“to shake”), *tres- (“to tremble”).

Synonyms

horrorterror

This word in other languages

terror(Español)terreur(Français)Schrecken(Deutsch)terror(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • etrror
  • teror
  • terorr
  • terrorr
  • terrro
  • treror
  • tterror

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

etrror2teror1terorr2terrorr1terrro2treror2tterror1
Edit distance from "terror"

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 "terror"?
"terror" is spelled T-E-R-R-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɛɹ.ɚ/.
What does "terror" mean?
As a noun, "terror" means: Intense dread, fright, or fear.
What words are commonly confused with "terror"?
"terror" is commonly confused with "terry", "terra", "tenor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "terror"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "terror" is /ˈtɛɹ.ɚ/. 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 "terror"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tres- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *troséyeti Proto-Italic *trozeō Latin terreō Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *-ōs Proto-Itali... 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 "terror", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

waited#4,642ruined#4,631warren#4,643pursue#4,624

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

scope7 variantsalpha7 variantspanic7 variantslover7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list