deject

/dɪˈdʒɛkt/

//dɪˈdʒɛkt// verb

"deject" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Make sad or dispirited.

Corpus desk

Index EN-deject · deject · English

deject · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 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 deject
PropertyValue
Headworddeject
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɪˈdʒɛkt/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “deject” in English

dejectranks 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

deject is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /dɪˈdʒɛkt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for deject in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French dejeter, from Latin dēiectus, past participle of dēicere (“to throw down”), from dē- (“from, down from”) + iacere (“to throw”). The correct English form is deject, spelled D-E-J-E-C-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Make sad or dispirited.
  2. 2
    To cast downward.
  3. 3
    To debase or humble.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] the Thoughts of my Friends, and native Country, and the Improbability of ever seeing them again, made me very melancholy; and dejected me to that Degree, that sometimes I could not forbear indulging my Grief in private, and bursting out into a Flood of Tears.
  2. On the other hand, there is nothing which dejects school children quite so much as failure.

Etymology

From Old French dejeter, from Latin dēiectus, past participle of dēicere (“to throw down”), from dē- (“from, down from”) + iacere (“to throw”).

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 "deject"?
"deject" is spelled D-E-J-E-C-T. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈdʒɛkt/.
What does "deject" mean?
As a verb, "deject" means: Make sad or dispirited.
How do you pronounce "deject"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "deject" is /dɪˈdʒɛkt/. 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 "deject"?
From Old French dejeter, from Latin dēiectus, past participle of dēicere (“to throw down”), from dē- (“from, down from”) + iacere (“to throw”). 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