delicate

/ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/

//ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət// adj

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

"delicate" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“delicate” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,003. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,003
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.

Corpus desk

Index EN-delicate · delicate · English

delicate · rank #7,003 · 11 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,003
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH den

Nearest frequency peer: den (+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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “delicate”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “delicate” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

delicate vs deviate
75% similar
delicate vs duplicate
78% similar
delicate vs delineate
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for delicate
PropertyValue
Headworddelicate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/
Letters8
Frequency rank#7,003
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “delicate” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). delicate lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around delicate (IPA /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #7,003 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for delicate, with forms such as "ddelicate", "deilcate", and "delciate". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "deviate", "duplicate", "delineate", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English delicat, from Latin dēlicātus (“giving pleasure, delightful, soft, luxurious, delicate, (in Medieval Latin also) fine, slender”), from dēlicia + -ātus (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), usually in plural dēliciae (“pleasure, delight,… The correct English form is delicate, spelled D-E-L-I-C-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.
  2. 2
    Characterized by a fine structure or thin lines.
  3. 3
    Intended for use with fragile items.
  4. 4
    Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings.
  5. 5
    Of weak health; easily sick; unable to endure hardship.
  6. 6
    Unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol.
  7. 7
    Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
  8. 8
    Pleasing to the senses; refined; adapted to please an elegant or cultivated taste.
  9. 9
    Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful.
  10. 10
    Light, or softly tinted; said of a colour.
  11. 11
    Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
  12. 12
    Highly discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite.
  13. 13
    Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Those clothes are made from delicate lace.
  2. The negotiations were very delicate.

Etymology

From Middle English delicat, from Latin dēlicātus (“giving pleasure, delightful, soft, luxurious, delicate, (in Medieval Latin also) fine, slender”), from dēlicia + -ātus (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), usually in plural dēliciae (“pleasure, delight, luxury”), from dēliciō (“to allure, entice”), from dē- (“away”) + laciō (“to lure, to deceive”), from Proto-Italic *lakjō (“to draw, pull”), of unknown ultimate origin. Compare delight, delicious and Spanish delgado (“thin, skinny”). The noun is from a substantivization of the adjective (see -ate).

Synonyms

fragile

This word in other languages

delicado(Español)délicat(Français)empfindlich(Deutsch)delicado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddelicate
  • deilcate
  • delciate
  • deliacte
  • delicaet
  • delicatte
  • deliccate
  • delictae
  • dellicate
  • dleicate
  • edlicate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of delicate - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddelicate1deilcate2delciate2deliacte2delicaet2delicatte1deliccate1delictae2
Edit distance from "delicate"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "delicate"?
"delicate" is spelled D-E-L-I-C-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/.
What does "delicate" mean?
As an adjective, "delicate" means: Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.
What words are commonly confused with "delicate"?
"delicate" is commonly confused with "deviate", "duplicate", "delineate". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "delicate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "delicate" is /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/. 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 "delicate"?
From Middle English delicat, from Latin dēlicātus (“giving pleasure, delightful, soft, luxurious, delicate, (in Medieval Latin also) fine, slender”), from dēlicia + -ātus (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), usually in plural dēliciae (“pleasure... 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 "delicate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

congrats#6,999Caroline#6,996evaluate#7,010formally#7,011

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Brandon11 variantsBradley11 variantsaluminum11 variantsMalcolm11 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "delicate". Here's where to go from here.

  • "delicate" maps to 8 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "deviate". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #7,003 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list