zealous
/ˈzɛləs/
"zealous" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“zealous” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,529. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #29,529
- frequency rank, English
- 265
- “Z” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Full of zeal; ardent, fervent; exhibiting enthusiasm or strong passion, particularly in matters of religion.
Corpus desk
Index EN-zealous · zealous · English
zealous · rank #29,529 · 9 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-MID #29,529
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 265
- PHOTO-FINISH XM
Nearest frequency peer: XM (-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 “zealous”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- woulda
woulda
70,475 corpus weight
- Wrexham
Wrexham
70,474 corpus weight
- XM
XM
70,473 corpus weight
- zealous
zealous
70,472 corpus weight
- aberration
aberration
70,471 corpus weight
- Aditya
Aditya
70,469 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “zealous” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | zealous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈzɛləs/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #29,529 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “zealous” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around zealous (IPA /ˈzɛləs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #29,529 among 265 “Z” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Full of zeal; ardent, fervent; exhibiting enthusiasm or strong passion, particularly in matters of religion.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for zealous, with forms such as "ezalous", "zaelous", and "zeallous". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English zelose, from Latin zēlōsus, from zēlus + -ōsus, from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, jealousy”), from ζηλόω (zēlóō, “to emulate, to be jealous”). By surface analysis, zeal + -ous. Doublet of jealous. The correct English form is zealous, spelled Z-E-A-L-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Full of zeal; ardent, fervent; exhibiting enthusiasm or strong passion, particularly in matters of religion.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how zealous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
They neuer paſſe for the procuring of Gods honor, neither regard they how much they be bound vnto him. But euery man in the meane ſeaſon followes his owne likings. One burnes in couetouſneſſe, and another in vaine glorie, ſeeking to be aduaunced to authoritie and honour, and to bee taken to be I wote not what. Thus ye ſee at what point they bee, which wil…
I had almoſt forgotten to acquaint your honor, that one major Alford (who was in mr. Love's conſpiracy) was of the graund inqueſt at Saliſbury, and was very zealous in his highneſſe ſervice here, and his good affection and wiſe carriage here, did much advantage the buſſineſe.
Etymology
From Middle English zelose, from Latin zēlōsus, from zēlus + -ōsus, from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, jealousy”), from ζηλόω (zēlóō, “to emulate, to be jealous”). By surface analysis, zeal + -ous. Doublet of jealous.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ezalous
- zaelous
- zeallous
- zealosu
- zealouss
- zealuos
- zeaolus
- zelaous
- zzealous
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of zealous - 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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "zealous", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "zealous". Here's where to go from here.
- 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #29,529 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "Z" letter cohort. Z–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.