baneful

adj

"baneful" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“baneful” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Poisonous, deadly.

Key facts for baneful
PropertyValue
Headwordbaneful
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “baneful” sits in English frequency

baneful falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for baneful is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for baneful in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From bane + -ful. The correct English form is baneful, spelled B-A-N-E-F-U-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Poisonous, deadly.
  2. 2
    Harmful, injurious.

Etymology

From bane + -ful.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "baneful"?
"baneful" is spelled B-A-N-E-F-U-L.
What does "baneful" mean?
As an adjective, "baneful" means: Poisonous, deadly.
What is the origin of the word "baneful"?
From bane + -ful. 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.

Using “baneful”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-A-N-E-F-U-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list