delegitimize
"delegitimize" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“delegitimize” is uncommon English (frequency #72,228 among 26,416 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #72,228
- frequency rank, English
- 26,416
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make something less legitimate.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | delegitimize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #72,228 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “delegitimize” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
delegitimize is uncommon English at frequency #72,228 among 26,416 “D” headwords, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for delegitimize in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From de- + legitimize. The correct English form is delegitimize, spelled D-E-L-E-G-I-T-I-M-I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1To make something less legitimate.
- 2To make something illegal that was previously legal.
Etymology
From de- + legitimize.
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); 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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Using “delegitimize”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-L-E-G-I-T-I-M-I-Z-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.