deafen
/ˈdɛfən/
"deafen" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deafen” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make deaf, either temporarily or permanently.
Corpus desk
Index EN-deafen · deafen · English
deafen · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | deafen |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈdɛfən/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “deafen” in English
Rare enough to double-check
deafen is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈdɛfən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for deafen, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From deaf + -en (verbal suffix), compare Middle English deven, deaven (“to make deaf”), Old English ādēafian (“to deafen”), Dutch verdoven (“to stupefy, deafen”), German betäuben (“to stun, stupefy, deafen”). The correct English form is deafen, spelled D-E-A-F-E-N.
Definition
- 1To make deaf, either temporarily or permanently.
- 2To make soundproof.
- 3To stun, as with noise.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how deafen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The head injury deafened her for life.
to deafen a wall or a floor
Etymology
From deaf + -en (verbal suffix), compare Middle English deven, deaven (“to make deaf”), Old English ādēafian (“to deafen”), Dutch verdoven (“to stupefy, deafen”), German betäuben (“to stun, stupefy, deafen”).
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.