delightful

/dəˈlaɪt.fl̩/

//dəˈlaɪt.fl̩// adj

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

"delightful" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“delightful” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,033. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,033
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pleasant; pleasing, bringing enjoyment, satisfaction, or pleasure.

Corpus desk

Index EN-delightful · delightful · English

delightful · rank #10,033 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #10,033
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH depicted

Nearest frequency peer: depicted (+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 “delightful”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “delightful” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

delightful vs delightfully
83% similar

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

Key facts for delightful
PropertyValue
Headworddelightful
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/dəˈlaɪt.fl̩/
Letters10
Frequency rank#10,033
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “delightful”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “depicted” (#10,034), “deepest” (#10,031), “determines” (#10,035). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “delightful” is #10,033. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around delightful (IPA /dəˈlaɪt.fl̩/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #10,033 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Pleasant; pleasing, bringing enjoyment, satisfaction, or pleasure.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for delightful, with forms such as "ddelightful", "deilghtful", and "delgihtful". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "delightfully", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English deliteful, delitfull, equivalent to delight + -ful. The correct English form is delightful, spelled D-E-L-I-G-H-T-F-U-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pleasant; pleasing, bringing enjoyment, satisfaction, or pleasure.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. What? a higher delight to be drawn from the sight / Of fish full of life and of glee? / What a noodle you are! ’tis delightfuller far / To kill them than let them go free!
  2. O, Joy! quicker than fire! O, Hope of things! / O, gracious gladness mighty with delight! / O, subtle sweet, delightfuler than might! / Ah, me, no fiercer laughing unction springs / From the fair Hope of things!

Etymology

From Middle English deliteful, delitfull, equivalent to delight + -ful.

Synonyms

delectabledelicious

This word in other languages

deleitoso(Español)délicieux(Français)reizvoll(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddelightful
  • deilghtful
  • delgihtful
  • deligghtful
  • delighftul
  • delighhtful
  • delightfful
  • delightflu
  • delightfull
  • delighttful
  • delightufl
  • deligthful
  • delihgtful
  • dellightful
  • dleightful
  • edlightful

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of delightful - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddelightful1deilghtful2delgihtful2deligghtful1delighftul2delighhtful1delightfful1delightflu2
Edit distance from "delightful"

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 "delightful"?
"delightful" is spelled D-E-L-I-G-H-T-F-U-L. The IPA pronunciation is /dəˈlaɪt.fl̩/.
What does "delightful" mean?
As an adjective, "delightful" means: Pleasant; pleasing, bringing enjoyment, satisfaction, or pleasure.
What words are commonly confused with "delightful"?
"delightful" is commonly confused with "delightfully". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "delightful"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "delightful" is /dəˈlaɪt.fl̩/. 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 "delightful"?
From Middle English deliteful, delitfull, equivalent to delight + -ful. 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 "delightful", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

determines#10,035continuity#10,024complement#10,019Charleston#10,007

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

comparative16 variantscommissioners16 variantsinsufficient16 variantsValentine's16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list