defy
/dɪˈfaɪ/
"defy" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“defy” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,683. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #16,683
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - To challenge (someone) or brave (a hazard or opposition).
Corpus desk
Index EN-defy · defy · English
defy · rank #16,683 · 6 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #16,683
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH decker
Nearest frequency peer: decker (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “defy”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- dealership
dealership
83,321 corpus weight
- dearest
dearest
83,320 corpus weight
- decker
decker
83,319 corpus weight
- defy
defy
83,318 corpus weight
- Della
Della
83,317 corpus weight
- denotes
denotes
83,316 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “defy” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | defy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dɪˈfaɪ/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #16,683 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “defy” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around defy (IPA /dɪˈfaɪ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #16,683 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for defy, with forms such as "ddefy", "deffy", and "defyy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "dy", "dry", "del", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French desfier, from Vulgar Latin *disfidare (“renounce one's faith”), from Latin dis- (“away”) + fidus (“faithful”). Meaning shifted in the 14th century from "be disloyal" to "challenge". Contrast confide, fidelity, faith. The correct English form is defy, spelled D-E-F-Y.
Definition
- 1To challenge (someone) or brave (a hazard or opposition).
- 2To refuse to obey.
- 3To not conform to or follow a pattern, set of rules or expectations.
- 4To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how defy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
to defy an enemy; to defy the power of a magistrate; to defy the arguments of an opponent; to defy public opinion
I once again / Defie thee to the trial of mortal fight.
Etymology
From Old French desfier, from Vulgar Latin *disfidare (“renounce one's faith”), from Latin dis- (“away”) + fidus (“faithful”). Meaning shifted in the 14th century from "be disloyal" to "challenge". Contrast confide, fidelity, faith.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ddefy
- deffy
- defyy
- deyf
- dfey
- edfy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of defy - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "defy", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).
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.