deary

/ˈdɪəɹi/

//ˈdɪəɹi// noun

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

"deary" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“deary” is uncommon English (frequency #80,367 among 26,416 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,367
frequency rank, English
26,416
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A dear; a darling.

Key facts for deary
PropertyValue
Headworddeary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɪəɹi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#80,367
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “deary” 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). deary 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

deary is uncommon English at frequency #80,367 among 26,416 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɪəɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for deary in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dear + -y. The correct English form is deary, spelled D-E-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A dear; a darling.
  2. 2
    A term of address for a female.

Etymology

From dear + -y.

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 "deary"?
"deary" is spelled D-E-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɪəɹi/.
What does "deary" mean?
As a noun, "deary" means: A dear; a darling.
How do you pronounce "deary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "deary" is /ˈdɪəɹi/. 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 "deary"?
From dear + -y. 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 “deary”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is D-E-A-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈdɪəɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list