travesty

/ˈtɹæv.ɪs.ti/

//ˈtɹæv.ɪs.ti// noun

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

"travesty" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“travesty” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,131. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,131
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An absurd, grotesque, misrepresentative or grossly inferior likeness or imitation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-travesty · travesty · English

travesty · rank #29,131 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,131
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH translational

Nearest frequency peer: translational (-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 “travesty”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “travesty” 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
Key facts for travesty
PropertyValue
Headwordtravesty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɹæv.ɪs.ti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#29,131
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “travesty”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).travestylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “translational” (#29,130), “tricking” (#29,132), “transformational” (#29,129). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “travesty” is #29,131. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around travesty (IPA /ˈtɹæv.ɪs.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #29,131 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for travesty, with forms such as "rtavesty", "tarvesty", and "traevsty". 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. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French travesti (“disguised, burlesqued”), past participle of travestir (“to disguise”), borrowed from Italian travestire (“to dress up, disguise”), from tra- (“across”) + vestire (“to dress”), from Latin vestiō (“to clothe, dress”), from Proto-Italic … The correct English form is travesty, spelled T-R-A-V-E-S-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    An absurd, grotesque, misrepresentative or grossly inferior likeness or imitation.
  2. 2
    A pastiche, parody, or stylistic imitation; a burlesque literary or artistic imitation (typically of a more serious work).
  3. 3
    An appalling event, situation or outcome (especially in relation to another outcome to which it is grossly inferior).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A battlefield trial is a travesty of justice.
  2. The second edition is not a recast, but absolutely a travesty of the first.

Etymology

From French travesti (“disguised, burlesqued”), past participle of travestir (“to disguise”), borrowed from Italian travestire (“to dress up, disguise”), from tra- (“across”) + vestire (“to dress”), from Latin vestiō (“to clothe, dress”), from Proto-Italic *westis (“clothing”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéstis (“dressing”) from verbal root *wes- (“to dress, clothe”); cognate to English wear. Doublet of travesti.

Synonyms

caricaturefeign

Antonyms

veracity

This word in other languages

Zerrbild(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtavesty
  • tarvesty
  • traevsty
  • travessty
  • travestty
  • travestyy
  • travesyt
  • travetsy
  • travsety
  • travvesty
  • trravesty
  • trvaesty
  • ttravesty

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rtavesty2tarvesty2traevsty2travessty1travestty1travestyy1travesyt2travetsy2
Edit distance from "travesty"

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 "travesty"?
"travesty" is spelled T-R-A-V-E-S-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɹæv.ɪs.ti/.
What does "travesty" mean?
As a noun, "travesty" means: An absurd, grotesque, misrepresentative or grossly inferior likeness or imitation.
What are common misspellings of "travesty"?
Common misspellings include "rtavesty", "tarvesty", "traevsty", "travessty", "travestty". The correct spelling is "travesty".
How do you pronounce "travesty"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "travesty" is /ˈtɹæv.ɪs.ti/. 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 "travesty"?
From French travesti (“disguised, burlesqued”), past participle of travestir (“to disguise”), borrowed from Italian travestire (“to dress up, disguise”), from tra- (“across”) + vestire (“to dress”), from Latin vestiō (“to clothe, dress”), from Pro... 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 "travesty", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tricking#29,132vengeful#29,140westside#29,143tasteful#29,118

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

wrinkled13 variantsagonizing13 variantssuperbly13 variantsstarfish13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list