wrath

/ɹɒθ/

//ɹɒθ// noun

"wrath" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wrath” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,328. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,328
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Great anger; (countable) an instance of this.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wrath · wrath · English

wrath · rank #11,328 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,328
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH wo

Nearest frequency peer: wo (-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 “wrath”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “wrath” 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).

wrath vs WTH
0% similar
wrath vs writ
60% similar
wrath vs Wray
40% similar

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

Key facts for wrath
PropertyValue
Headwordwrath
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɒθ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#11,328
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wrath”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).wrathlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “wo” (#11,327), “yuan” (#11,329), “who've” (#11,326). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wrath” is #11,328. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around wrath (IPA /ɹɒθ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,328 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for wrath, with forms such as "rwath", "warth", and "wraht". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "WTH", "writ", "Wray", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English wraththe, wreththe (“anger, fury, rage; animosity, hostility; deadly sin of wrath; distress, vexation; punishment; retribution (?)”) [and other forms], from Old English wrǣþþu (“ire, wrath”) [and other forms], from Pr… The correct English form is wrath, spelled W-R-A-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Great anger; (countable) an instance of this.
  2. 2
    Punishment, retribution, or vengeance resulting from anger; (countable) an instance of this.
  3. 3
    Great ardour or passion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Homer relates an episode in the Trojan War that reveals the tragic consequences of the wrath of Achilles.
  2. Let all bitternes, fearſnes and wrath, rorynge and curſyd ſpeakynge, be put awaye from you, with all maliciouſnes.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English wraththe, wreththe (“anger, fury, rage; animosity, hostility; deadly sin of wrath; distress, vexation; punishment; retribution (?)”) [and other forms], from Old English wrǣþþu (“ire, wrath”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *wraiþiþu (“anger, fury, wrath”), from *wraiþ (“angry, furious, wroth; hostile, violent; bent, twisted”) (from Proto-Germanic *wraiþaz (“angry, furious, wroth; hostile, violent; bent, twisted”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”)) + *-iþu (suffix forming abstract nouns). Effectively analysable as wroth + -th (abstract nominal suffix). The verb is derived from Middle English wratthen (“to be or become angry, to rage; to quarrel; to cause wrath, offend; to become troubled or vexed; to cause grief or harm, grieve, vex”) [and other forms], from wraththe, wreththe (noun) (see above) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). Cognates * Danish vrede (“anger, wrath”) * Dutch wreedte (“cruelty”) * Icelandic reiði (“anger”) * Swedish vrede (“anger, ire, wrath”)

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rwath
  • warth
  • wraht
  • wrathh
  • wratth
  • wrrath
  • wrtah
  • wwrath

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rwath2warth2wraht2wrathh1wratth1wrrath1wrtah2wwrath1
Edit distance from "wrath"

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 "wrath"?
"wrath" is spelled W-R-A-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɒθ/.
What does "wrath" mean?
As a noun, "wrath" means: Great anger; (countable) an instance of this.
What words are commonly confused with "wrath"?
"wrath" is commonly confused with "WTH", "writ", "Wray". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wrath"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wrath" is /ɹɒθ/. 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 "wrath"?
The noun is derived from Middle English wraththe, wreththe (“anger, fury, rage; animosity, hostility; deadly sin of wrath; distress, vexation; punishment; retribution (?)”) [and other forms], from Old English wrǣþþu (“ire, wrath”) [and other forms... 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 "wrath", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list