toxic

/ˈtɒk.sɪk/

//ˈtɒk.sɪk// adj

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

"toxic" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“toxic” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,807. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,807
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a chemical nature that is harmful to health or lethal if consumed or otherwise entering into the body in sufficient quantities.

Corpus desk

Index EN-toxic · toxic · English

toxic · rank #4,807 · 7 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,807
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH terry

Nearest frequency peer: terry (-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 “toxic”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “toxic” 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).

toxic vs toxin
80% similar
toxic vs tunic
60% similar
toxic vs tropic
67% similar

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

Key facts for toxic
PropertyValue
Headwordtoxic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈtɒk.sɪk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#4,807
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “toxic”

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).toxiclands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “terry” (#4,806), “treasury” (#4,808), “terrorism” (#4,805). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “toxic” is #4,807. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around toxic (IPA /ˈtɒk.sɪk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #4,807 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for toxic, with forms such as "otxic", "toixc", and "toxci". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "toxin", "tunic", "tropic", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French toxique, from Late Latin toxicus (“poisoned”), from Latin toxicum (“poison”), from Ancient Greek τοξικόν (toxikón) [φάρμακον (phármakon)] ("poison for use on arrows"), from τοξικός (toxikós, “pertaining to arrows or archery”), from τόξο… The correct English form is toxic, spelled T-O-X-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a chemical nature that is harmful to health or lethal if consumed or otherwise entering into the body in sufficient quantities.
  2. 2
    Appearing grossly unwell; characterised by serious, potentially life-threatening compromise in the respiratory, circulatory or other body systems.
  3. 3
    Severely negative or harmful.
  4. 4
    Of a person, hateful or strongly antipathetic.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Tobacco smoke contains many toxic substances.
  2. If some types of electronic waste aren’t incinerated at a high enough temperature, dioxins, which can cause cancer and developmental problems, infiltrate the food supply. Without proper safeguarding, toxic heavy metals seep into the soil and groundwater.

Etymology

Borrowed from French toxique, from Late Latin toxicus (“poisoned”), from Latin toxicum (“poison”), from Ancient Greek τοξικόν (toxikón) [φάρμακον (phármakon)] ("poison for use on arrows"), from τοξικός (toxikós, “pertaining to arrows or archery”), from τόξον (tóxon, “bow”).

This word in other languages

tóxico(Español)toxique(Français)giftig(Deutsch)tóxico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otxic
  • toixc
  • toxci
  • toxicc
  • toxxic
  • ttoxic
  • txoic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

otxic2toixc2toxci2toxicc1toxxic1ttoxic1txoic2
Edit distance from "toxic"

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 "toxic"?
"toxic" is spelled T-O-X-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɒk.sɪk/.
What does "toxic" mean?
As an adjective, "toxic" means: Having a chemical nature that is harmful to health or lethal if consumed or otherwise entering into the body in sufficient quantities.
What words are commonly confused with "toxic"?
"toxic" is commonly confused with "toxin", "tunic", "tropic". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "toxic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "toxic" is /ˈtɒk.sɪk/. 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 "toxic"?
Borrowed from French toxique, from Late Latin toxicus (“poisoned”), from Latin toxicum (“poison”), from Ancient Greek τοξικόν (toxikón) [φάρμακον (phármakon)] ("poison for use on arrows"), from τοξικός (toxikós, “pertaining to arrows or archery”),... 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 "toxic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

terry#4,806Susan#4,803wider#4,813wound#4,814

Similar misspelling depth

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

tunnel7 variantsrobot7 variantsbaker7 variantscasual7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list