wilful
/ˈwɪlfʊl/
"wilful" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wilful” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,689. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #38,689
- frequency rank, English
- 1,759
- “W” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Intentional; deliberate.
Corpus desk
Index EN-wilful · wilful · English
wilful · rank #38,689 · 8 variants · 7 confusables
- FREQ-MID #38,689
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,759
- PHOTO-FINISH wich
Nearest frequency peer: wich (-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 “wilful”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- Whedon
Whedon
61,316 corpus weight
- Whitechapel
Whitechapel
61,314 corpus weight
- wich
wich
61,313 corpus weight
- wilful
wilful
61,312 corpus weight
- Willa
Willa
61,311 corpus weight
- Wittgenstein
Wittgenstein
61,309 corpus weight
What this shows “wilful” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wilful |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈwɪlfʊl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #38,689 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wilful”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around wilful (IPA /ˈwɪlfʊl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #38,689 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for wilful, with forms such as "iwlful", "wiflul", and "wilfful". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "will", "woeful", "wishful", 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 wilful; equivalent to will + -ful. The correct English form is wilful, spelled W-I-L-F-U-L.
Definition
- 1Intentional; deliberate.
- 2Stubborn and determined.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how wilful appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Knowingly or unknowingly, every therapist assumes that each client possesses the capacity to change through willful choice.
Mary had taken the whim into her willful head, and Jane could not dissuade her.
Etymology
From Middle English wilful; equivalent to will + -ful.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- iwlful
- wiflul
- wilfful
- wilflu
- wilfull
- wilufl
- wliful
- wwilful
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wilful - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "wilful", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).