wholesome

/ˈhoʊl.səm/

//ˈhoʊl.səm// adj

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

"wholesome" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wholesome” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,868 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#14,868
frequency rank, English
9
letters
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Promoting good physical health and well-being.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

wholesome vs wholesale
78% similar

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

Key facts for wholesome
PropertyValue
Headwordwholesome
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈhoʊl.səm/
Letters9
Frequency rank#14,868
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wholesome” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). wholesome lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for wholesome is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhoʊl.səm/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,868 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for wholesome, with forms such as "hwolesome", "whholesome", and "whloesome". 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, "wholesale", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier holesome, from Middle English holsom, holsum, helsum, halsum, from Old English *hālsum, *hǣlsum, from Proto-West Germanic *hailasam, from Proto-Germanic *hailasamaz, equivalent to whole + -some or hale (“healthy”) + -some. Cognate with Saterlan… The correct English form is wholesome, spelled W-H-O-L-E-S-O-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Promoting good physical health and well-being.
  2. 2
    Promoting moral and mental well-being.
  3. 3
    Favorable to morals, religion or prosperity; sensible; conducive to good; salutary; promoting virtue or being virtuous.
  4. 4
    Marked by wholeness; sound and healthy.
  5. 5
    Decent; innocuous; sweet.

Etymology

From earlier holesome, from Middle English holsom, holsum, helsum, halsum, from Old English *hālsum, *hǣlsum, from Proto-West Germanic *hailasam, from Proto-Germanic *hailasamaz, equivalent to whole + -some or hale (“healthy”) + -some. Cognate with Saterland Frisian heelsoam, Dutch heilzaam, German Low German heelsaam, German heilsam, Icelandic heilsamur, Norwegian Nynorsk helsesam, Swedish hälsosam (“wholesome”).

Synonyms

healthyhealthfulsalubrious

Antonyms

unwholesome

This word in other languages

saludable(Español)salubre(Français)gesund(Deutsch)saudável(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hwolesome,whholesome,whloesome,whoelsome,wholeosme,wholesmoe,wholesoem,wholesomme,wholessome,whollesome,wholseome,wohlesome,wwholesome

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hwolesome2whholesome1whloesome2whoelsome2wholeosme2wholesmoe2wholesoem2wholesomme1
Edit distance from "wholesome"

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 "wholesome"?
"wholesome" is spelled W-H-O-L-E-S-O-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhoʊl.səm/.
What does "wholesome" mean?
As an adjective, "wholesome" means: Promoting good physical health and well-being.
What words are commonly confused with "wholesome"?
"wholesome" is commonly confused with "wholesale". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wholesome"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wholesome" is /ˈhoʊl.səm/. 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 "wholesome"?
From earlier holesome, from Middle English holsom, holsum, helsum, halsum, from Old English *hālsum, *hǣlsum, from Proto-West Germanic *hailasam, from Proto-Germanic *hailasamaz, equivalent to whole + -some or hale (“healthy”) + -some. Cognate wit... 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.

Using “wholesome”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is W-H-O-L-E-S-O-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈhoʊl.səm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “wholesale” - see the side-by-side comparison. wholesome vs wholesale
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list