useful

/ˈjuːsfl̩/

//ˈjuːsfl̩// adj

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

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

The verdict

“useful” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,973. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,973
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a practical or beneficial use.

Corpus desk

Index EN-useful · useful · English

useful · rank #1,973 · 8 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,973
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH upper

Nearest frequency peer: upper (-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 “useful”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “useful” 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).

useful vs usefully
75% similar

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

Key facts for useful
PropertyValue
Headworduseful
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈjuːsfl̩/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,973
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “useful”

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).usefullands 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 “upper” (#1,972), “valley” (#1,974), “transfer” (#1,971). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “useful” is #1,973. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around useful (IPA /ˈjuːsfl̩/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,973 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Having a practical or beneficial use.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for useful, with forms such as "sueful", "uesful", and "usefful". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "usefully", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From use + -ful. The correct English form is useful, spelled U-S-E-F-U-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a practical or beneficial use.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. prove useful
  2. practically useful

Etymology

From use + -ful.

This word in other languages

útil(Español)utile(Français)nützlich(Deutsch)útil(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sueful
  • uesful
  • usefful
  • useflu
  • usefull
  • useufl
  • usfeul
  • usseful

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

sueful2uesful2usefful1useflu2usefull1useufl2usfeul2usseful1
Edit distance from "useful"

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 "useful"?
"useful" is spelled U-S-E-F-U-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈjuːsfl̩/.
What does "useful" mean?
As an adjective, "useful" means: Having a practical or beneficial use.
What words are commonly confused with "useful"?
"useful" is commonly confused with "usefully". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "useful"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "useful" is /ˈjuːsfl̩/. 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 "useful"?
From use + -ful. 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 "useful", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

valley#1,974toward#1,970awards#1,984proper#1,961

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

pieces8 variantsmassive8 variantslinks8 variantsmuseum8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list