deafening
/ˈdɛfənɪŋ(ɡ)/
"deafening" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deafening” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #29,624 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #29,624
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Loud enough to cause temporary or permanent hearing loss.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | deafening |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈdɛfənɪŋ(ɡ)/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #29,624 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “deafening” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for deafening is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɛfənɪŋ(ɡ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #29,624 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for deafening, with forms such as "daefening", "ddeafening", and "deaefning". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "defining", "defending", "deepening", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is deafening, spelled D-E-A-F-E-N-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Loud enough to cause temporary or permanent hearing loss.
- 2Very loud.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: daefening,ddeafening,deaefning,deafeinng,deafenign,deafeningg,deafeninng,deafennig,deafenning,deaffening,deafneing,defaening,edafening
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of deafening - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "deafening"?
What does "deafening" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "deafening"?
How do you pronounce "deafening"?
What language does "deafening" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “deafening”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-A-F-E-N-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɛfənɪŋ(ɡ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “defining” - see the side-by-side comparison. deafening vs defining
- 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.