violet

/ˈvaɪ.ə.lət/

//ˈvaɪ.ə.lət// noun

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

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

The verdict

“violet” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,126. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,126
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A plant or flower of the genus Viola, especially the fragrant Viola odorata; (inexact) similar-looking plants and flowers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-violet · violet · English

violet · rank #9,126 · 8 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,126
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH weighing

Nearest frequency peer: weighing (+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 “violet”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “violet” 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).

violet vs volt
67% similar
violet vs vole
67% similar
violet vs violin
67% similar

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

Key facts for violet
PropertyValue
Headwordviolet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈvaɪ.ə.lət/
Letters6
Frequency rank#9,126
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “violet”

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).violetlands 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 “weighing” (#9,127), “Vic” (#9,124), “Wendy” (#9,128). Among 969 “V” headwords, “violet” is #9,126. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around violet (IPA /ˈvaɪ.ə.lət/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,126 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for violet, with forms such as "ivolet", "viloet", and "vioelt". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "volt", "vole", "violin", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Latin viola Old French -ette Old French violettebor. Middle English violet English violet Inherited from Middle English violet, vyolet, vyolette, from Old French violette, from Latin viola (“violet”) + -ette. Cognate with Lithuanian violetinė… The correct English form is violet, spelled V-I-O-L-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A plant or flower of the genus Viola, especially the fragrant Viola odorata; (inexact) similar-looking plants and flowers.
  2. 2
    A person thought to resemble V. odorata, especially in its beauty and delicacy.
  3. 3
    The color of most violets; the colour evoked by the shortest visible wavelengths between 380 and 435 nm, an additive tertiary colour.
  4. 4
    Clothes and (ecclesiastical) vestments of such a colour.
  5. 5
    The characteristic scent of V. odorata.
  6. 6
    Synonym of onion (“vegetable”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Refreshed by their cooling bath of evening dew, the violets and other nocturnal flowers emitted a pleasant fragrance over the fields, but from the bogs and the rivulets came up now and then damp, penetrating gusts, that sent an icy chill through me.
  2. Albertus Magnus, the thirteenth century philosopher and occultist, states that coriander, valerian, and violet are love producing herbs.

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin viola Old French -ette Old French violettebor. Middle English violet English violet Inherited from Middle English violet, vyolet, vyolette, from Old French violette, from Latin viola (“violet”) + -ette. Cognate with Lithuanian violetinė (“purple, violet”) and Spanish violeta (“purple, violet”).

Synonyms

fuchsiaindigomagentapurplerosethistleultravioletviolet

This word in other languages

violeta(Español)violet(Français)Violett(Deutsch)violeta(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ivolet
  • viloet
  • vioelt
  • violett
  • viollet
  • violte
  • voilet
  • vviolet

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ivolet2viloet2vioelt2violett1viollet1violte2voilet2vviolet1
Edit distance from "violet"

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 "violet"?
"violet" is spelled V-I-O-L-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvaɪ.ə.lət/.
What does "violet" mean?
As a noun, "violet" means: A plant or flower of the genus Viola, especially the fragrant Viola odorata; (inexact) similar-looking plants and flowers.
What words are commonly confused with "violet"?
"violet" is commonly confused with "volt", "vole", "violin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "violet"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "violet" is /ˈvaɪ.ə.lət/. 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 "violet"?
Etymology tree Latin viola Old French -ette Old French violettebor. Middle English violet English violet Inherited from Middle English violet, vyolet, vyolette, from Old French violette, from Latin viola (“violet”) + -ette. Cognate with Lithuanian... 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 "violet", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Afghan#9,130typing#9,120skiing#9,098convey#9,155

Similar misspelling depth

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

Wendy8 variantsvanilla8 variantstasty8 variantsswamp8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list