decoration
/ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/
"decoration" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“decoration” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,315 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #9,315
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of adorning, embellishing, or honoring; ornamentation.
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 | decoration |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #9,315 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “decoration” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for decoration is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,315 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for decoration, with forms such as "dceoration", "ddecoration", and "deccoration". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "decorator", "decorative", "detonation", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin decoratio: compare French décoration. Morphologically decorate + -ion. The correct English form is decoration, spelled D-E-C-O-R-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of adorning, embellishing, or honoring; ornamentation.
- 2Any item that adorns, enriches, or beautifies; something added by way of embellishment or ornamentation.
- 3Specifically, any mark of honor to be worn upon the person, as a medal, cross, or ribbon of an order of knighthood, bestowed for services in war, great achievements in literature, art, etc.
- 4The use of exotic sugars as decoys to distract the immune system of a host
- 5Refurbishment; renovation
Etymology
From Latin decoratio: compare French décoration. Morphologically decorate + -ion.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: dceoration,ddecoration,deccoration,decoartion,decoraiton,decorasion,decoratino,decorationn,decoratoin,decorattion,decorration,decortaion,decroation,deocration,edcoration
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of decoration - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “decoration”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-C-O-R-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “decorator” - see the side-by-side comparison. decoration vs decorator
- 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.