Tory
/ˈtɔː.ɹi/
"tory" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Tory” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,368. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #8,368
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member or supporter of the Conservative Party, which evolved from Royalist politicians; historically associated with upholding the rights of the monarchy and the privileges of the established Chu...
Corpus desk
Index EN-tory · Tory · English
Tory · rank #8,368 · 5 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #8,368
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH trafficking
Nearest frequency peer: trafficking (+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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “Tory”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- terrific
terrific
91,637 corpus weight
- theres
theres
91,636 corpus weight
- Tory
Tory
91,633 corpus weight
- trafficking
trafficking
91,632 corpus weight
- transparency
transparency
91,631 corpus weight
- trinity
trinity
91,630 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “Tory” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | Tory |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɔː.ɹi/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #8,368 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Tory” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around Tory (IPA /ˈtɔː.ɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,368 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Tory, with forms such as "otry", "torry", and "toryy". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Ty", "try", "toy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Irish tóraí (“pursuer”), from tóir (“pursuit”). The first recorded use in English is from a 1646 letter by James Butler, Earl of Ormond, to a Colonel O'Brien, describing bandits and thieves on main roadways. The correct English form is Tory, spelled T-O-R-Y.
Definition
- 1A member or supporter of the Conservative Party, which evolved from Royalist politicians; historically associated with upholding the rights of the monarchy and the privileges of the established Church.
- 2One who is like a British Tory; someone politically conservative.
- 3A member or supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada, one of that party's predecessors, or an affiliated provincial political party.
- 4A member of the political factions that sought to prevent the exclusion of James, Duke of York, from the throne of England in the 17th century.
- 5An Irish rebel fighting against English rule at the end of the Confederate War and Cromwellian invasion; later extended to other rebels or bandits.
- 6A loyal British subject during the American Revolution.
- 7A Union sympathizer in the Confederate States during the American Civil War.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how Tory appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The latest Tory budget continued the trend begun in 2000 by making further small cuts in family income taxes.
Etymology
From Irish tóraí (“pursuer”), from tóir (“pursuit”). The first recorded use in English is from a 1646 letter by James Butler, Earl of Ormond, to a Colonel O'Brien, describing bandits and thieves on main roadways.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- otry
- torry
- toryy
- toyr
- ttory
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Tory - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Tory", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "Tory". Here's where to go from here.
- "Tory" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Ty". View pair
- 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #8,368 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.