venerable

/ˈvɛnəɹəbl/

//ˈvɛnəɹəbl// adj

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

"venerable" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“venerable” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,539. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,539
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position.

Corpus desk

Index EN-venerable · venerable · English

venerable · rank #20,539 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,539
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH vanishing

Nearest frequency peer: vanishing (-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 “venerable”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “venerable” 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).

venerable vs vulnerable
80% similar
venerable vs vegetable
78% similar

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

Key facts for venerable
PropertyValue
Headwordvenerable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈvɛnəɹəbl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#20,539
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “venerable”

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).venerablelands 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 “vanishing” (#20,538), “visualize” (#20,540), “Vanderbilt” (#20,537). Among 969 “V” headwords, “venerable” is #20,539. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around venerable (IPA /ˈvɛnəɹəbl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #20,539 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for venerable, with forms such as "evnerable", "veenrable", and "venearble". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "vulnerable", "vegetable", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French vénérable, from Old French, from Latin venerabilis. The correct English form is venerable, spelled V-E-N-E-R-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position.
  2. 2
    Worthy of reverence.
  3. 3
    Ancient, antiquated or archaic.
  4. 4
    Made sacred especially by religious or historical association.
  5. 5
    Giving an impression of aged goodness and benevolence.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations.
  2. We looked at the venerable stream not in the vivid flush of a short day that comes and departs for ever, but in the pacific yet august light of abiding memories.

Etymology

From Middle French vénérable, from Old French, from Latin venerabilis.

This word in other languages

venerable(Español)vénérable(Français)ehrwürdig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • evnerable
  • veenrable
  • venearble
  • venerabble
  • venerabel
  • venerablle
  • veneralbe
  • venerbale
  • venerible
  • venerrable
  • vennerable
  • venreable
  • vneerable
  • vvenerable

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

evnerable2veenrable2venearble2venerabble1venerabel2venerablle1veneralbe2venerbale2
Edit distance from "venerable"

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 "venerable"?
"venerable" is spelled V-E-N-E-R-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvɛnəɹəbl/.
What does "venerable" mean?
As an adjective, "venerable" means: Commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position.
What words are commonly confused with "venerable"?
"venerable" is commonly confused with "vulnerable", "vegetable". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "venerable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "venerable" is /ˈvɛnəɹəbl/. 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 "venerable"?
From Middle French vénérable, from Old French, from Latin venerabilis. 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 "venerable", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

vanishing#20,538visualize#20,540youngster#20,545unlocking#20,530

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

advisable14 variantsassortment14 variantsbandwagon14 variantsChattanooga14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list