deader

adj

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

The verdict

“deader” is uncommon English (frequency #95,883 among 26,416 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#95,883
frequency rank, English
26,416
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - comparative form of dead: more dead; or at least more evidently dead.

Key facts for deader
PropertyValue
Headworddeader
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters6
Frequency rank#95,883
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “deader” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). deader lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

deader is uncommon English at frequency #95,883 among 26,416 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "comparative form of dead: more dead; or at least more evidently dead.".

deader doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dead + -er (comparative suffix) or + -er (occupational suffix). The correct English form is deader, spelled D-E-A-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    comparative form of dead: more dead; or at least more evidently dead.

Etymology

From dead + -er (comparative suffix) or + -er (occupational suffix).

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 "deader"?
"deader" is spelled D-E-A-D-E-R.
What does "deader" mean?
As an adjective, "deader" means: comparative form of dead: more dead; or at least more evidently dead.
What is the origin of the word "deader"?
From dead + -er (comparative suffix) or + -er (occupational suffix). 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 “deader”

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

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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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