deliberate
/dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət/
"deliberate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deliberate” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,318 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #9,318
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Done on purpose; intentional.
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 | deliberate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #9,318 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “deliberate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for deliberate is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,318 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for deliberate, with forms such as "ddeliberate", "deilberate", and "delbierate". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "delineate", "deliberately", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English deliberat(e), borrowed from Latin dēlīberātus, perfect passive participle of dēlīberō (“to consider, weigh well”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dē- + *līberō / lībrō (“to weigh”)), f… The correct English form is deliberate, spelled D-E-L-I-B-E-R-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1Done on purpose; intentional.
- 2Formed with deliberation; carefully considered; not sudden or rash.
- 3Of a person, weighing facts and arguments with a view to a choice or decision; carefully considering the probable consequences of a step; slow in determining.
- 4Not hasty or sudden; slow.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English deliberat(e), borrowed from Latin dēlīberātus, perfect passive participle of dēlīberō (“to consider, weigh well”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dē- + *līberō / lībrō (“to weigh”)), from *libera / libra (“a balance”); see librate. Doublet of deliber.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddeliberate,deilberate,delbierate,delibberate,delibearte,deliberaet,deliberatte,deliberrate,delibertae,delibreate,deliebrate,delliberate,dleiberate,edliberate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of deliberate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "deliberate"?
What does "deliberate" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "deliberate"?
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Using “deliberate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-L-I-B-E-R-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “delineate” - see the side-by-side comparison. deliberate vs delineate
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.