deathly
/ˈdɛθli/
"deathly" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deathly” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,344. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #32,344
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Appearing as though dead, or on the verge of death.
Corpus desk
Index EN-deathly · deathly · English
deathly · rank #32,344 · 11 variants · 5 confusables
- FREQ-MID #32,344
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH dapper
Nearest frequency peer: dapper (-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 “deathly”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- cysts
cysts
67,661 corpus weight
- dapper
dapper
67,658 corpus weight
- deathly
deathly
67,657 corpus weight
- defection
defection
67,655 corpus weight
- delightfully
delightfully
67,654 corpus weight
- dermatitis
dermatitis
67,653 corpus weight
What this shows “deathly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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 | deathly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈdɛθli/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #32,344 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “deathly”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around deathly (IPA /ˈdɛθli/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #32,344 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for deathly, with forms such as "daethly", "ddeathly", and "deahtly". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "deaths", "deftly", "death", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dethlich, from Old English dēaþlīċ, equivalent to death + -ly. The correct English form is deathly, spelled D-E-A-T-H-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Appearing as though dead, or on the verge of death.
- 2Deadly, fatal, causing death.
- 3Extreme.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how deathly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He has a deathly pallor.
I rushed towards her, and embraced her with ardour; but the deathly languor and coldness of the limbs told me, that what I now held in my arms had ceased to be the Elizabeth whom I had loved and cherished.
Etymology
From Middle English dethlich, from Old English dēaþlīċ, equivalent to death + -ly.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- daethly
- ddeathly
- deahtly
- deathhly
- deathlly
- deathlyy
- deathyl
- deatlhy
- deatthly
- detahly
- edathly
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of deathly - 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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "deathly", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).