vandal

/ˈvændəl/

//ˈvændəl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“vandal” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,757. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,757
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who needlessly destroys, defaces, or damages things, especially other people's property.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vandal · vandal · English

vandal · rank #37,757 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #37,757
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH urchin

Nearest frequency peer: urchin (-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 “vandal”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “vandal” 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).

vandal vs vassal
67% similar

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

Key facts for vandal
PropertyValue
Headwordvandal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈvændəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#37,757
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “vandal”

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).vandallands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “urchin” (#37,756), “VHF” (#37,758), “uptick” (#37,755). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vandal” is #37,757. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around vandal (IPA /ˈvændəl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,757 among 969 “V” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A person who needlessly destroys, defaces, or damages things, especially other people's property.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for vandal, with forms such as "avndal", "vadnal", and "vanadl". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "vassal", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1660s, “willful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable”, from Vandal, referring to a member of an ancient Germanic people, the Vandals, who are associated with senseless destruction as a result of their sack of Rome under King Genseric in 455. During t… The correct English form is vandal, spelled V-A-N-D-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who needlessly destroys, defaces, or damages things, especially other people's property.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Vandals spray-painted obscenities on the side of the building.
  2. The anonymous vandal was blocked after going on a vandalism spree.

Etymology

1660s, “willful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable”, from Vandal, referring to a member of an ancient Germanic people, the Vandals, who are associated with senseless destruction as a result of their sack of Rome under King Genseric in 455. During the Enlightenment, Rome was idealized, while the Goths and Vandals were blamed for its destruction. The Vandals may not have been any more destructive than other invaders of ancient times, but they did inspire English poet John Dryden to write, Till Goths, and Vandals, a rude Northern race, Did all the matchless Monuments deface (1694). However, the Vandals did intentionally damage statues, which may be why their name is associated with the vandalism of art. The coining of French Vandalisme by Henri Grégoire in 1794 to describe the destruction of artwork following the French Revolution popularized the idea further, and the term was quickly adopted across Europe, including as English vandalism.

Synonyms

destroyerruinerwreckervandalizer

This word in other languages

vándalo(Español)vandale(Français)Vandale(Deutsch)vândalo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • avndal
  • vadnal
  • vanadl
  • vandall
  • vanddal
  • vandla
  • vanndal
  • vnadal
  • vvandal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

avndal2vadnal2vanadl2vandall1vanddal1vandla2vanndal1vnadal2
Edit distance from "vandal"

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 "vandal"?
"vandal" is spelled V-A-N-D-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvændəl/.
What does "vandal" mean?
As a noun, "vandal" means: A person who needlessly destroys, defaces, or damages things, especially other people's property.
What words are commonly confused with "vandal"?
"vandal" is commonly confused with "vassal". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vandal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vandal" is /ˈvændəl/. 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 "vandal"?
1660s, “willful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable”, from Vandal, referring to a member of an ancient Germanic people, the Vandals, who are associated with senseless destruction as a result of their sack of Rome under King Genseric in 455... 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 "vandal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

urchin#37,756uptick#37,755uncool#37,750tomboy#37,738

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

throes9 variantsafresh9 variantsAppleby9 variantsstrobe9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list