wilt
/wɪlt/
"wilt" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wilt” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,980. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #21,980
- frequency rank, English
- 1,759
- “W” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To droop or become limp and flaccid (as a dying leaf or flower).
Corpus desk
Index EN-wilt · wilt · English
wilt · rank #21,980 · 6 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #21,980
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,759
- PHOTO-FINISH whopping
Nearest frequency peer: whopping (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “wilt”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Wharton
Wharton
78,024 corpus weight
- whiff
whiff
78,023 corpus weight
- whopping
whopping
78,022 corpus weight
- wilt
wilt
78,021 corpus weight
- Woodstock
Woodstock
78,020 corpus weight
- Zachary
Zachary
78,018 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “wilt” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | wilt |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /wɪlt/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #21,980 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “wilt” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around wilt (IPA /wɪlt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #21,980 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for wilt, with forms such as "iwlt", "willt", and "wiltt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wt", "WL", "win", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded since 1691, probably an alteration of welk, itself from Middle English welken, presumed from Middle Dutch (preserved in modern inchoative verwelken) or Middle Low German welken (“to wither”), cognate with Old High German irwelhen (“to become soft”). The correct English form is wilt, spelled W-I-L-T.
Definition
- 1To droop or become limp and flaccid (as a dying leaf or flower).
- 2To fatigue; to lose strength; to flag.
- 3To cause to droop or become limp and flaccid (as a flower).
- 4To cause to fatigue; to exhaust.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how wilt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Not only were Jupp Heynckes' team pacey in attack but they were relentless in their pursuit of the ball once they had lost it, and as the game wore on they merely increased their dominance as City wilted in the Allianz Arena.
Caught between hails of 5″/38 fire and working Mk 14 torpedoes, on the one hand, and 16-inch batteries backed up by even more 5″/38 guns, on the other, the Japanese cruisers rapidly began to wilt under the sustained bombardment; firing off any remaining torpedoes they had at any targets that they could find and bring to bear, the survivors wheeled about a…
Etymology
Recorded since 1691, probably an alteration of welk, itself from Middle English welken, presumed from Middle Dutch (preserved in modern inchoative verwelken) or Middle Low German welken (“to wither”), cognate with Old High German irwelhen (“to become soft”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- iwlt
- willt
- wiltt
- witl
- wlit
- wwilt
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wilt - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "wilt"?
What does "wilt" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "wilt"?
How do you pronounce "wilt"?
What is the origin of the word "wilt"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "wilt", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "wilt". Here's where to go from here.
- "wilt" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "wt". View pair
- 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #21,980 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "W" letter cohort. W–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.