timid
/ˈtɪmɪd/
"timid" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“timid” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,098. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #21,098
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 16
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lacking in courage or confidence.
Corpus desk
Index EN-timid · timid · English
timid · rank #21,098 · 7 variants · 16 confusables
- FREQ-MID #21,098
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH towering
Nearest frequency peer: towering (+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 “timid”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- throwback
throwback
78,906 corpus weight
- thunderstorm
thunderstorm
78,905 corpus weight
- timid
timid
78,903 corpus weight
- towering
towering
78,902 corpus weight
- triathlon
triathlon
78,900 corpus weight
- trickle
trickle
78,899 corpus weight
What this shows “timid” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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 | timid |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈtɪmɪd/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #21,098 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 16 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “timid”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around timid (IPA /ˈtɪmɪd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #21,098 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Lacking in courage or confidence.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for timid, with forms such as "itmid", "tiimd", and "timdi". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "TMI", "tired", "Timmy", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French timide, from Latin timidus (“full of fear, fearful, timid”), from timeō (“to fear”). The correct English form is timid, spelled T-I-M-I-D.
Definition
- 1Lacking in courage or confidence.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how timid appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
John's a very timid person. I doubt he'll be brave enough to face his brother.
When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him.[…]. The captive made no resistance and came not only quietly but in a series of eager little rushes like a timid dog on a choke chain.
Etymology
From Middle French timide, from Latin timidus (“full of fear, fearful, timid”), from timeō (“to fear”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- itmid
- tiimd
- timdi
- timidd
- timmid
- tmiid
- ttimid
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of timid - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "timid", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).