defilement
/dɪˈfaɪəlmənt/
"defilement" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“defilement” is uncommon English (frequency #87,196 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #87,196
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of defiling.
Corpus desk
Index EN-defilement · defilement · English
defilement · rank #87,196 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #87,196
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH decriminalisa…
Nearest frequency peer: decriminalisation (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “defilement”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- deathtrap
deathtrap
12,809 corpus weight
- decarboxyla…
decarboxylase
12,807 corpus weight
- decriminali…
decriminalisation
12,806 corpus weight
- defilement
defilement
12,805 corpus weight
- Delly
Delly
12,803 corpus weight
- Delphic
Delphic
12,802 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “defilement” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | defilement |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɪˈfaɪəlmənt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #87,196 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “defilement” in English
Rare enough to double-check
defilement is uncommon English at frequency #87,196 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /dɪˈfaɪəlmənt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for defilement in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From defile + -ment. The correct English form is defilement, spelled D-E-F-I-L-E-M-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1The act of defiling.
- 2The state of being defiled.
- 3The protection of the interior walls of a fortification from enfilading fire, as by covering them, or by a high parapet on the exposed side.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how defilement appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Time has taken a terrible revenge upon mankind for his despoliation of the valleys and his defilement of the mountains, yet the industries and the railways of South Wales still put the bravest front upon an outlook which all may hope is becoming less saddening and less grim.
The new law also applies to acts of defilement besides burning, such as publicly ripping a flag up. Public display of the Nazi swastika and other Nazi symbols is already banned in Germany.
Etymology
From defile + -ment.
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 "defilement", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).