deflagration

/ˌdɛfləˈɡɹeɪʃən/

//ˌdɛfləˈɡɹeɪʃən// noun

"deflagration" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“deflagration” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of deflagrating; an intense fire; a conflagration or explosion. Specifically, combustion that spreads subsonically via thermal conduction.

Corpus desk

Index EN-deflagration · deflagration · English

deflagration · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for deflagration
PropertyValue
Headworddeflagration
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌdɛfləˈɡɹeɪʃən/
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “deflagration” in English

deflagrationranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

deflagration is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌdɛfləˈɡɹeɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The act of deflagrating; an intense fire; a conflagration or explosion. Specifically, combustion that spreads subsonically via thermal conduction.".

deflagration doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin dēflagrātiō, from dēflagrāre. The correct English form is deflagration, spelled D-E-F-L-A-G-R-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of deflagrating; an intense fire; a conflagration or explosion. Specifically, combustion that spreads subsonically via thermal conduction.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how deflagration appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. If, for example, the mixture of oxygen and hydrogen was twenty volumes, and three volumes of oxygen remained after the deflagration, the mixture consisted of six volumes of hydrogen and six volumes of oxygen.
  2. Black powder . . . It produces a relatively fast burn or deflagration rather than a detonation and is classified as "low explosive".

Etymology

From Latin dēflagrātiō, from dēflagrāre.

Antonyms

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "deflagration"?
"deflagration" is spelled D-E-F-L-A-G-R-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌdɛfləˈɡɹeɪʃən/.
What does "deflagration" mean?
As a noun, "deflagration" means: The act of deflagrating; an intense fire; a conflagration or explosion. Specifically, combustion that spreads subsonically via thermal conduction.
How do you pronounce "deflagration"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "deflagration" is /ˌdɛfləˈɡɹeɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "deflagration"?
From Latin dēflagrātiō, from dēflagrāre. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list