deferential
[ˌdɛfəˈɹɛnʃəɫ]
"deferential" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deferential” is uncommon English (frequency #60,750 among 26,416 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #60,750
- frequency rank, English
- 26,416
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Respectful and considerate; showing deference.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | deferential |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [ˌdɛfəˈɹɛnʃəɫ] |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #60,750 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “deferential” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
deferential is uncommon English at frequency #60,750 among 26,416 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˌdɛfəˈɹɛnʃəɫ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for deferential, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. 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 deference (or its Latin type *dēferentia) + -al; compare essence, essential; prudence, prudential, etc. Coined by Scottish novelist, poet and playwright Walter Scott. The correct English form is deferential, spelled D-E-F-E-R-E-N-T-I-A-L.
Definition
- 1Respectful and considerate; showing deference.
- 2Based on deference; based on the doctrine, ideology, or wishes of others rather than one's own conclusions.
Etymology
From deference (or its Latin type *dēferentia) + -al; compare essence, essential; prudence, prudential, etc. Coined by Scottish novelist, poet and playwright Walter Scott.
This word in other languages
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 “deferential”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-F-E-R-E-N-T-I-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˌdɛfəˈɹɛnʃəɫ] (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.