valiant
/ˈvæliənt/
"valiant" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“valiant” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,498 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #19,498
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Possessing or showing courage or determination; brave, heroic.
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 | valiant |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈvæliənt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #19,498 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “valiant” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for valiant is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈvæliənt/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,498 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for valiant, with forms such as "avliant", "vailant", and "valaint". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "variant", "variants", "valiantly", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English vailaunt (“having or showing courage or valour, valiant; characterized by valour; powerful, strong; person of valour or strength; excellent, worthy; beneficial, useful; valuable; legally valid, binding”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Nor… The correct English form is valiant, spelled V-A-L-I-A-N-T.
Definition
- 1Possessing or showing courage or determination; brave, heroic.
- 2Characterized by or done with bravery or valour.
Etymology
From Middle English vailaunt (“having or showing courage or valour, valiant; characterized by valour; powerful, strong; person of valour or strength; excellent, worthy; beneficial, useful; valuable; legally valid, binding”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman vaillaunt, vaylant [and other forms], and Old French vailant, vaillant (“brave, valiant; having value, valuable”) [and other forms], from the present participle of valoir (“to have value; to be worth”), from Latin valēre (“to have value; to be worth; to be strong; to have influence or power”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“powerful, strong; to rule”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: avliant,vailant,valaint,valiannt,valiantt,valiatn,valinat,valliant,vlaiant,vvaliant
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of valiant - 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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Using “valiant”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is V-A-L-I-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈvæliənt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “variant” - see the side-by-side comparison. valiant vs variant
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.