werewolf

/ˈwɛːwʊlf/

//ˈwɛːwʊlf// noun

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

"werewolf" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“werewolf” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,995. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,995
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who is transformed or can transform into a wolf or a wolflike human, often said to do so during a full moon.

Corpus desk

Index EN-werewolf · werewolf · English

werewolf · rank #18,995 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,995
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH Weld

Nearest frequency peer: Weld (-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 “werewolf”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “werewolf” 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
Key facts for werewolf
PropertyValue
Headwordwerewolf
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈwɛːwʊlf/
Letters8
Frequency rank#18,995
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “werewolf”

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).werewolflands 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 “Weld” (#18,994), “weirdo” (#18,993), “wrongful” (#18,997). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “werewolf” is #18,995. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around werewolf (IPA /ˈwɛːwʊlf/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,995 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A person who is transformed or can transform into a wolf or a wolflike human, often said to do so during a full moon.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for werewolf, with forms such as "ewrewolf", "weerwolf", and "wereowlf". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English werwolf, from Old English werewulf, from Proto-West Germanic *werawulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wer (“man”) + *wulf (“wolf”). Cognate with Dutch weerwolf, Low German Warwulf, German Werwolf, Danish varulv, Swedish varulv, and even poss… The correct English form is werewolf, spelled W-E-R-E-W-O-L-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who is transformed or can transform into a wolf or a wolflike human, often said to do so during a full moon.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Near-synonym: dogman

Etymology

From Middle English werwolf, from Old English werewulf, from Proto-West Germanic *werawulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wer (“man”) + *wulf (“wolf”). Cognate with Dutch weerwolf, Low German Warwulf, German Werwolf, Danish varulv, Swedish varulv, and even possibly Finnish vironsusi. By surface analysis, were- + wolf. * Compare French garou in loup-garou; French dialectal gairou, varou (“werewolf”); Medieval Latin gerulphus, garulphus (“werewolf”); all from Germanic, probably Frankish *werawulf.

This word in other languages

hombre lobo(Español)loup-garou(Français)Werwolf(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ewrewolf
  • weerwolf
  • wereowlf
  • werewlof
  • werewofl
  • werewolff
  • werewollf
  • werewwolf
  • werrewolf
  • werweolf
  • wreewolf
  • wwerewolf

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ewrewolf2weerwolf2wereowlf2werewlof2werewofl2werewolff1werewollf1werewwolf1
Edit distance from "werewolf"

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 "werewolf"?
"werewolf" is spelled W-E-R-E-W-O-L-F. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɛːwʊlf/.
What does "werewolf" mean?
As a noun, "werewolf" means: A person who is transformed or can transform into a wolf or a wolflike human, often said to do so during a full moon.
What are common misspellings of "werewolf"?
Common misspellings include "ewrewolf", "weerwolf", "wereowlf", "werewlof", "werewofl". The correct spelling is "werewolf".
How do you pronounce "werewolf"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "werewolf" is /ˈwɛːwʊlf/. 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 "werewolf"?
From Middle English werwolf, from Old English werewulf, from Proto-West Germanic *werawulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wer (“man”) + *wulf (“wolf”). Cognate with Dutch weerwolf, Low German Warwulf, German Werwolf, Danish varulv, Swedish varulv, and... 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 "werewolf", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wrongful#18,997underdog#18,982unbiased#18,979aromatic#19,015

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

turquoise12 variantsthematic12 variantsBelgrade12 variantsblindly12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list