deadass

adj

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

The verdict

“deadass” is uncommon English (frequency #74,017 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#74,017
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of a place: having very little activity; dead.

Corpus desk

Index EN-deadass · deadass · English

deadass · rank #74,017 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #74,017
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dander

Nearest frequency peer: dander (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “deadass”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “deadass” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for deadass
PropertyValue
Headworddeadass
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters7
Frequency rank#74,017
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “deadass” in English

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).deadassfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “dander” (#74,015), “Danaher” (#74,014), “denuded” (#74,020). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “deadass” is #74,017. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

deadass is uncommon English at frequency #74,017 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for deadass in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dead + -ass (“used to intensify an adjective”). Originated in New York City, and popularized around the late 1990s–2000s. The correct English form is deadass, spelled D-E-A-D-A-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a place: having very little activity; dead.
  2. 2
    Genuine, real. (used as a negative intensifier)
  3. 3
    Dead serious.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I could tell what you two had right off the bat. It was the same with me and my Rosario. That's what keeps me goin in this deadass joint, because there's no way she don't show someday and when that day comes the round man hauls some vino outta one of them shrouds he uses as filin cabinets or you're gonna see him walkin around with a brand new face.
  2. On my way back to town I get to thinking about what Sandee said about Kirby: 'Fix the bastard'. Hmm...maybe we should. After all, what else is there to do on a Friday night in our deadass town?

Etymology

From dead + -ass (“used to intensify an adjective”). Originated in New York City, and popularized around the late 1990s–2000s.

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 "deadass"?
"deadass" is spelled D-E-A-D-A-S-S.
What does "deadass" mean?
As an adjective, "deadass" means: Of a place: having very little activity; dead.
What is the origin of the word "deadass"?
From dead + -ass (“used to intensify an adjective”). Originated in New York City, and popularized around the late 1990s–2000s. 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 "deadass", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list