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” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,489 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#5,489
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Subject to death; mortal.

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)

Where “deadly” 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). deadly lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for deadly is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɛdli/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,489 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “deadly”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is D-E-A-D-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈdɛdli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “deal” - see the side-by-side comparison. deadly vs deal
  • 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