deadly

/ˈdɛdli/

//ˈdɛdli// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“deadly” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,489. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,489
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Subject to death; mortal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-deadly · deadly · English

deadly · rank #5,489 · 9 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,489
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH creature

Nearest frequency peer: creature (-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 “deadly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “deadly” 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).

deadly vs deal
67% similar
deadly vs deals
67% similar
deadly vs dealt
67% similar

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

Key facts for deadly
PropertyValue
Headworddeadly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈdɛdli/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,489
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “deadly”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “creature” (#5,488), “decides” (#5,490), “counsel” (#5,487). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “deadly” is #5,489. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around deadly (IPA /ˈdɛdli/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #5,489 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for deadly, with forms such as "daedly", "ddeadly", and "deaddly". 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 also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "deal", "deals", "dealt", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dedly, dedlych, dedlich, from Old English dēadlīċ (adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *dauþalīk, from Proto-Germanic *dauþalīkaz (“deadly”, literally “deathly”). By surface analysis, dead + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian dodelk (“… The correct English form is deadly, spelled D-E-A-D-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Subject to death; mortal.
  2. 2
    Causing death; lethal.
  3. 3
    Aiming or willing to destroy; implacable; desperately hostile.
  4. 4
    Very accurate (of aiming with a bow, firearm, etc.).
  5. 5
    Very boring.
  6. 6
    Excellent, awesome, cool.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […]he ſuffred hym ſelfe to be made mortall and dedly, that innocent & gyltles in hym ſelfe: he myght be ſlayne & deye for the gylty man.
  2. ❧ That when the iournay / of this dedly life / My ſely ghoſte / hath finiſhed and thence[…]

Etymology

From Middle English dedly, dedlych, dedlich, from Old English dēadlīċ (adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *dauþalīk, from Proto-Germanic *dauþalīkaz (“deadly”, literally “deathly”). By surface analysis, dead + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian dodelk (“deadly”), West Frisian deadlik (“deadly”), Dutch dodelijk (“deadly”), German tödlich (“deadly”), Swedish dödlig (“deadly, fatal, mortal”), Icelandic dauðlegur (“mortal”). The adverb is from Middle English dedliche, from Old English dēadlīċe (adverb), from the adjective.

This word in other languages

mortal(Español)mortel(Français)tödlich(Deutsch)mortal(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • daedly
  • ddeadly
  • deaddly
  • deadlly
  • deadlyy
  • deadyl
  • dealdy
  • dedaly
  • edadly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

daedly2ddeadly1deaddly1deadlly1deadlyy1deadyl2dealdy2dedaly2
Edit distance from "deadly"

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 "deadly"?
"deadly" is spelled D-E-A-D-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɛdli/.
What does "deadly" mean?
As an adjective, "deadly" means: Subject to death; mortal.
What words are commonly confused with "deadly"?
"deadly" is commonly confused with "deal", "deals", "dealt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "deadly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "deadly" is /ˈdɛdli/. 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 "deadly"?
From Middle English dedly, dedlych, dedlich, from Old English dēadlīċ (adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *dauþalīk, from Proto-Germanic *dauþalīkaz (“deadly”, literally “deathly”). By surface analysis, dead + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian... 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 "deadly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

clouds#5,485casino#5,483bubble#5,481hammer#5,501

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Hitler9 variantsIranian9 variantslaying9 variantsmarvel9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list