wobbly

/ˈwɒb(ə)li/

//ˈwɒb(ə)li// adj

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

"wobbly" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wobbly” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,089. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,089
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Unsteady and tending to wobble.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wobbly · wobbly · English

wobbly · rank #28,089 · 8 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,089
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH WNBA

Nearest frequency peer: WNBA (-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 “wobbly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “wobbly” 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).

wobbly vs woolly
67% similar
wobbly vs wobble
83% similar

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

Key facts for wobbly
PropertyValue
Headwordwobbly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈwɒb(ə)li/
Letters6
Frequency rank#28,089
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wobbly”

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).wobblylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “WNBA” (#28,088), “wot” (#28,090), “widower” (#28,087). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wobbly” is #28,089. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around wobbly (IPA /ˈwɒb(ə)li/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #28,089 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Unsteady and tending to wobble.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for wobbly, with forms such as "owbbly", "wbobly", and "wobblly". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "woolly", "wobble", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From wobble + -y. The correct English form is wobbly, spelled W-O-B-B-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Unsteady and tending to wobble.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. wobbly bridge
  2. wobbly chair

Etymology

From wobble + -y.

This word in other languages

vacillant(Français)wackelig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • owbbly
  • wbobly
  • wobblly
  • wobblyy
  • wobbyl
  • woblby
  • wobly
  • wwobbly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

owbbly2wbobly2wobblly1wobblyy1wobbyl2woblby2wobly1wwobbly1
Edit distance from "wobbly"

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 "wobbly"?
"wobbly" is spelled W-O-B-B-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɒb(ə)li/.
What does "wobbly" mean?
As an adjective, "wobbly" means: Unsteady and tending to wobble.
What words are commonly confused with "wobbly"?
"wobbly" is commonly confused with "woolly", "wobble". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wobbly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wobbly" is /ˈwɒb(ə)li/. 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 "wobbly"?
From wobble + -y. 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 "wobbly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wraith#28,091Welles#28,086Yangon#28,093trusty#28,063

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Toulon8 variantsstuffy8 variantsSeamus8 variantsdecode8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list