vixen

/ˈvɪk.sən/

//ˈvɪk.sən// noun

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

"vixen" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vixen” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,402. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,402
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
19
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female fox.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vixen · vixen · English

vixen · rank #31,402 · 7 variants · 19 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,402
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 19 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH vitally

Nearest frequency peer: vitally (-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 “vixen”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “vixen” 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).

vixen vs vie
60% similar
vixen vs VIX
0% similar
vixen vs view
60% similar

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

Key facts for vixen
PropertyValue
Headwordvixen
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈvɪk.sən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#31,402
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “vixen”

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).vixenlands 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 “vitally” (#31,401), “wank” (#31,403), “viscous” (#31,400). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vixen” is #31,402. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around vixen (IPA /ˈvɪk.sən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #31,402 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for vixen, with forms such as "ivxen", "viexn", and "vixenn". 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 19 confusable-pair relationships, "vie", "VIX", "view", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Alteration of earlier fixen, from Middle English fixen, from Old English *fyxen (compare also Old English fyxe (“female fox”)), from Proto-West Germanic *fuhsini, from Proto-Germanic *fuhsinī; the voiced v- comes from the Southern dialectal forms of Middle … The correct English form is vixen, spelled V-I-X-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A female fox.
  2. 2
    A malicious, quarrelsome or temperamental woman.
  3. 3
    A racy or salacious woman who is sexually attractive; any attractive woman.
  4. 4
    A wife who has sex with other men with her husband's consent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He was prudent and industrious, and so good a husbandman, that he might have led a very easy and comfortable life, had not an arrant vixen of a wife soured his domestic quiet.
  2. […] and if Solomon was as wise as he is reputed to be, I feel sure that when he compared a contentious woman to a continual dripping on a very rainy day, he had not a vixen in his eye–a fury with long nails, acrid and selfish.

Etymology

Alteration of earlier fixen, from Middle English fixen, from Old English *fyxen (compare also Old English fyxe (“female fox”)), from Proto-West Germanic *fuhsini, from Proto-Germanic *fuhsinī; the voiced v- comes from the Southern dialectal forms of Middle English. Alternatively, from the Old English adjective fyxen (“of the fox”), as in the phrase fixen hȳd (“fox skin”; compare Middle English foxen fox).

This word in other languages

zorra(Español)renarde(Français)Füchsin(Deutsch)raposa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ivxen
  • viexn
  • vixenn
  • vixne
  • vixxen
  • vvixen
  • vxien

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vixen - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ivxen2viexn2vixenn1vixne2vixxen1vvixen1vxien2
Edit distance from "vixen"

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 "vixen"?
"vixen" is spelled V-I-X-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvɪk.sən/.
What does "vixen" mean?
As a noun, "vixen" means: A female fox.
What words are commonly confused with "vixen"?
"vixen" is commonly confused with "vie", "VIX", "view". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vixen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vixen" is /ˈvɪk.sən/. 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 "vixen"?
Alteration of earlier fixen, from Middle English fixen, from Old English *fyxen (compare also Old English fyxe (“female fox”)), from Proto-West Germanic *fuhsini, from Proto-Germanic *fuhsinī; the voiced v- comes from the Southern dialectal forms ... 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 "vixen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

waugh#31,404Valle#31,395wreak#31,415totes#31,383

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Tyrell7 variantsAegean7 variantstacit7 variantsSonja7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list