warlock

/ˈwɔː.lɒk/

//ˈwɔː.lɒk// noun

"warlock" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“warlock” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,515. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,515
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A male magic-user; a male witch; a wizard.

Corpus desk

Index EN-warlock · warlock · English

warlock · rank #29,515 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,515
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH waterhouse

Nearest frequency peer: waterhouse (+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 “warlock”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “warlock” 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).

warlock vs Warwick
57% similar
warlock vs warlord
71% similar
warlock vs wedlock
71% similar

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

Key facts for warlock
PropertyValue
Headwordwarlock
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈwɔː.lɒk/
Letters7
Frequency rank#29,515
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “warlock”

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).warlocklands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “waterhouse” (#29,516), “vert” (#29,513), “wayside” (#29,517). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “warlock” is #29,515. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around warlock (IPA /ˈwɔː.lɒk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #29,515 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for warlock, with forms such as "awrlock", "walrock", and "warlcok". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "Warwick", "warlord", "wedlock", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English warloghe, warlowe, warloȝe, from Old English wǣrloga (“traitor, deceiver”, literally “truce-breaker”), from Proto-West Germanic *wārulogō (“liar”), equivalent to Old English wǣr (“covenant, truce, pact, promise”) (from Proto-Indo-Europea… The correct English form is warlock, spelled W-A-R-L-O-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male magic-user; a male witch; a wizard.
  2. 2
    A magic-user (regardless of gender).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He was himself a warlock, or wizard, which they knew by his taking the witch's part.
  2. It was the day of warlocks and apparitions, now happily driven out by the zeal of the General Assembly.

Etymology

From Middle English warloghe, warlowe, warloȝe, from Old English wǣrloga (“traitor, deceiver”, literally “truce-breaker”), from Proto-West Germanic *wārulogō (“liar”), equivalent to Old English wǣr (“covenant, truce, pact, promise”) (from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁- (“true”); whence also Latin vērus) + loga (“liar”), from Proto-Germanic *lugô, related to Old English lēogan (whence English lie). The hard -ck ending originated in Scottish and Northern English, like the sense "male magic-user" (from the notion that such men were in league with the Devil and had thus broken their baptismal vows / betrayed Christianity). Cognate with Old Saxon wārlogo (“liar, unfaithful or insidious one”). A few writers alternatively propose a derivation from Old Norse varðlokkur (“incantations, charms”, literally “ward songs”), but as the OED notes, this is implausible due to the extreme rarity of the Norse word, the semantic difference, and because forms without hard -k, which are consistent with the Old English etymology (“traitor”), are attested earlier than forms with -k, and forms with -ð- are not attested.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • awrlock
  • walrock
  • warlcok
  • warllock
  • warlocck
  • warlockk
  • warlokc
  • warolck
  • warrlock
  • wralock
  • wwarlock

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

awrlock2walrock2warlcok2warllock1warlocck1warlockk1warlokc2warolck2
Edit distance from "warlock"

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 "warlock"?
"warlock" is spelled W-A-R-L-O-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɔː.lɒk/.
What does "warlock" mean?
As a noun, "warlock" means: A male magic-user; a male witch; a wizard.
What words are commonly confused with "warlock"?
"warlock" is commonly confused with "Warwick", "warlord", "wedlock". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "warlock"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "warlock" is /ˈwɔː.lɒk/. 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 "warlock"?
From Middle English warloghe, warlowe, warloȝe, from Old English wǣrloga (“traitor, deceiver”, literally “truce-breaker”), from Proto-West Germanic *wārulogō (“liar”), equivalent to Old English wǣr (“covenant, truce, pact, promise”) (from Proto-In... 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 "warlock", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list