# deletion

> English word · Noun · IPA /dɪˈliːʃən/ · frequency rank #21,489

## Definitions
1. An item that has been or will be deleted.
2. The act of deleting.
3. A mutation in which a gene, or other section of DNA, is removed from a chromosome.
4. An act of killing or murder.

## Etymology
From Latin dēlētiōnem (“destruction, effacement”), from the past-participle stem of dēlēre (“to blot out, destroy, efface”). Equivalent to delete + -ion.

## Easily confused with
- **devotion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deletion-vs-devotion)
- **delusion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deletion-vs-delusion)
- **dilution** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deletion-vs-dilution)
- **dilation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deletion-vs-dilation)
- **demotion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deletion-vs-demotion)
- **detection** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deletion-vs-detection)
- **detention** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deletion-vs-detention)
- **depletion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deletion-vs-depletion)
- **desertion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deletion-vs-desertion)
- **deception** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deception-vs-deletion)
- **deflation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deflation-vs-deletion)
- **defection** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/defection-vs-deletion)
- **delegation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/delegation-vs-deletion)
- **deflection** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deflection-vs-deletion)

## Common misspellings (12)
`ddeletion`, `deeltion`, `deleiton`, `delesion`, `deletino`, `deletionn`, `deletoin`, `delettion`, `delletion`, `delteion`, `dleetion`, `edletion`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/deletion