deleterious

/ˌdɛl.ɪˈtɪə̯.ɹi.əs/

//ˌdɛl.ɪˈtɪə̯.ɹi.əs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"deleterious" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“deleterious” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,647. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,647
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Harmful, often in a subtle or unexpected way.

Corpus desk

Index EN-deleterious · deleterious · English

deleterious · rank #40,647 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,647
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH delft

Nearest frequency peer: delft (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “deleterious”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “deleterious” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for deleterious
PropertyValue
Headworddeleterious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌdɛl.ɪˈtɪə̯.ɹi.əs/
Letters11
Frequency rank#40,647
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “deleterious”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).deleteriouslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “delft” (#40,648), “Deakin” (#40,645), “demeanour” (#40,650). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “deleterious” is #40,647. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around deleterious (IPA /ˌdɛl.ɪˈtɪə̯.ɹi.əs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #40,647 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for deleterious, with forms such as "ddeleterious", "deelterious", and "deleetrious". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Adapted borrowing (1640s; 1582 as deletorious) of New Latin dēlētērius, dēlētōrius + -ous, from Ancient Greek δηλητήριος (dēlētḗrios, “noxious, deleterious”), from δηλητήρ (dēlētḗr, “a destroyer”), from δηλέομαι (dēléomai, “I hurt, damage, spoil, waste”). N… The correct English form is deleterious, spelled D-E-L-E-T-E-R-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Harmful, often in a subtle or unexpected way.
  2. 2
    Having lower fitness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. deleterious effects
  2. deleterious to someone's health

Etymology

Adapted borrowing (1640s; 1582 as deletorious) of New Latin dēlētērius, dēlētōrius + -ous, from Ancient Greek δηλητήριος (dēlētḗrios, “noxious, deleterious”), from δηλητήρ (dēlētḗr, “a destroyer”), from δηλέομαι (dēléomai, “I hurt, damage, spoil, waste”). Not related to delete or deleble. Doublet of deletery.

This word in other languages

deletéreo(Español)délétère(Français)schädlich(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddeleterious
  • deelterious
  • deleetrious
  • deleteirous
  • deleteriosu
  • deleteriouss
  • deleteriuos
  • deleteroius
  • deleterrious
  • deletreious
  • deletterious
  • delleterious
  • delteerious
  • dleeterious
  • edleterious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of deleterious - 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.

ddeleterious1deelterious2deleetrious2deleteirous2deleteriosu2deleteriouss1deleteriuos2deleteroius2
Edit distance from "deleterious"

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 "deleterious"?
"deleterious" is spelled D-E-L-E-T-E-R-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌdɛl.ɪˈtɪə̯.ɹi.əs/.
What does "deleterious" mean?
As an adjective, "deleterious" means: Harmful, often in a subtle or unexpected way.
What are common misspellings of "deleterious"?
Common misspellings include "ddeleterious", "deelterious", "deleetrious", "deleteirous", "deleteriosu". The correct spelling is "deleterious".
How do you pronounce "deleterious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "deleterious" is /ˌdɛl.ɪˈtɪə̯.ɹi.əs/. 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 "deleterious"?
Adapted borrowing (1640s; 1582 as deletorious) of New Latin dēlētērius, dēlētōrius + -ous, from Ancient Greek δηλητήριος (dēlētḗrios, “noxious, deleterious”), from δηλητήρ (dēlētḗr, “a destroyer”), from δηλέομαι (dēléomai, “I hurt, damage, spoil, ... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "deleterious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cytoplasmic#40,642emotionless#40,680hypertrophy#40,746Kilimanjaro#40,768

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

Copernicus15 variantscoastguard15 variantscantilever15 variantsbacktrack15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list