deathly
/ˈdɛθli/
"deathly" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deathly” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #32,344 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #32,344
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Appearing as though dead, or on the verge of death.
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) |
Where “deathly” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for deathly is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɛθli/. Corpus data places it at rank #32,344 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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.
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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Using “deathly”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-A-T-H-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɛθli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “deaths” - see the side-by-side comparison. deathly vs deaths
- 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.