deform
/dɪˈfɔːm/
"deform" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deform” is an uncommon English word, ranked #52,880 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #52,880
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having an unusual and unattractive shape; deformed, misshapen; hence, hideous, ugly.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | deform |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /dɪˈfɔːm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #52,880 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “deform” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for deform is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈfɔːm/. Corpus data places it at rank #52,880 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Having an unusual and unattractive shape; deformed, misshapen; hence, hideous, ugly.".
deform doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *de From Middle English deforme (“out of shape, deformed”) [and other forms], from Middle French deforme (modern French difforme (“misshapen, deformed”)), or directly from its etymon Latin dēfōrmis (“departing physically from the correct shape, de… The correct English form is deform, spelled D-E-F-O-R-M.
Definition
- 1Having an unusual and unattractive shape; deformed, misshapen; hence, hideous, ugly.
Etymology
PIE word *de From Middle English deforme (“out of shape, deformed”) [and other forms], from Middle French deforme (modern French difforme (“misshapen, deformed”)), or directly from its etymon Latin dēfōrmis (“departing physically from the correct shape, deformed, malformed, misshapen, ugly; (figuratively) departing morally from the correct quality, base, disgraceful, shameful, unbecoming”), from dē- (prefix meaning ‘away from; from’) + fōrma (“form, appearance, figure, shape; fine form, beauty; design, outline, plan; model, pattern; mould, stamp; (figuratively) kind, manner, sort”) (further etymology unknown; perhaps related to Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ, “form, shape; appearance; outline; kind, type”), probably from Pre-Greek, but there is no consensus) + -is (suffix forming adjectives of the third declension).
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
How do you spell "deform"?
What does "deform" mean?
How do you pronounce "deform"?
What is the origin of the word "deform"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “deform”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-F-O-R-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪˈfɔːm/ (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
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.