wealthy

/ˈwɛl.θi/

//ˈwɛl.θi// adj

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

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

The verdict

“wealthy” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,096. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,096
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Possessing financial wealth; rich.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wealthy · wealthy · English

wealthy · rank #5,096 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,096
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH vulnerable

Nearest frequency peer: vulnerable (-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 “wealthy”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “wealthy” 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).

wealthy vs wealth
86% similar

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

Key facts for wealthy
PropertyValue
Headwordwealthy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈwɛl.θi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,096
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wealthy”

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).wealthylands 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 “vulnerable” (#5,095), “additionally” (#5,097), “veteran” (#5,094). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wealthy” is #5,096. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around wealthy (IPA /ˈwɛl.θi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #5,096 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 wealthy, with forms such as "ewalthy", "waelthy", and "wealhty". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "wealth", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English welthy, welþi, equivalent to wealth + -y. Cognate with Middle Dutch weldech, weeldech (“magnificent, luscious, lavish”). The correct English form is wealthy, spelled W-E-A-L-T-H-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Possessing financial wealth; rich.
  2. 2
    Abundant in quality or quantity; profuse.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. As a result of these causes the grazier marks himself off fairly sharply from the rest of Australia. He has always spent a considerable proportion of the time in the capital cities, in each of which he has formed a club to which, besides the graziers, only a few of the wealthiest and most prominent of the city dwellers are admitted.
  2. As people stall feed through the years, or if they are wealthier to begin with, the money is used to build houses and buy metal roof sheets, or to buy bicycles, ox-carts and breeding cows.

Etymology

From Middle English welthy, welþi, equivalent to wealth + -y. Cognate with Middle Dutch weldech, weeldech (“magnificent, luscious, lavish”).

Synonyms

bow-legged wi' brasscomfortably offfilthy richloadedmintedmoneyedmoneybagsof meansoofyrichrich as Croesusrollingrolling in doughrolling in itupper crustwealthywell-endowedwell-heeledwell offwell-to-do

Antonyms

impoverishedpoor

This word in other languages

adinerado(Español)riche(Français)wohlhabend(Deutsch)rico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ewalthy
  • waelthy
  • wealhty
  • weallthy
  • wealthhy
  • wealthyy
  • wealtthy
  • wealtyh
  • weatlhy
  • welathy
  • wwealthy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ewalthy2waelthy2wealhty2weallthy1wealthhy1wealthyy1wealtthy1wealtyh2
Edit distance from "wealthy"

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 "wealthy"?
"wealthy" is spelled W-E-A-L-T-H-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɛl.θi/.
What does "wealthy" mean?
As an adjective, "wealthy" means: Possessing financial wealth; rich.
What words are commonly confused with "wealthy"?
"wealthy" is commonly confused with "wealth". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wealthy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wealthy" is /ˈwɛl.θi/. 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 "wealthy"?
From Middle English welthy, welþi, equivalent to wealth + -y. Cognate with Middle Dutch weldech, weeldech (“magnificent, luscious, lavish”). 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 "wealthy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

veteran#5,094attract#5,099Barbara#5,100blowing#5,102

Similar misspelling depth

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

Swedish11 variantsslavery11 variantschronic11 variantsgenerous11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list