demeanour

noun

"demeanour" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“demeanour” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,650. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,650
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Commonwealth spelling of demeanor.

Corpus desk

Index EN-demeanour · demeanour · English

demeanour · rank #40,650 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #40,650
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH delft

Nearest frequency peer: delft (-2 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 “demeanour”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “demeanour” 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).

demeanour vs demeanor
89% similar

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

Key facts for demeanour
PropertyValue
Headworddemeanour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#40,650
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “demeanour”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).demeanourlands 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), “deleterious” (#40,647), “detritus” (#40,653). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “demeanour” is #40,650. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around demeanour, anoun. Corpus frequency is #40,650 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Commonwealth spelling of demeanor.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for demeanour, with forms such as "ddemeanour", "deemanour", and "demaenour". 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, "demeanor", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is demeanour, spelled D-E-M-E-A-N-O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Commonwealth spelling of demeanor.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.
  2. At Paisley, a station staff member politely but firmly asks why RAIL is taking so many photographs. The reply - that it's a magnificent station worthy of pictures - changes his demeanour and he's then very apologetic and says he "has to ask".

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddemeanour
  • deemanour
  • demaenour
  • demeannour
  • demeanoru
  • demeanourr
  • demeanuor
  • demeaonur
  • demenaour
  • demmeanour
  • dmeeanour
  • edmeanour

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddemeanour1deemanour2demaenour2demeannour1demeanoru2demeanourr1demeanuor2demeaonur2
Edit distance from "demeanour"

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 "demeanour"?
"demeanour" is spelled D-E-M-E-A-N-O-U-R.
What does "demeanour" mean?
As a noun, "demeanour" means: UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Commonwealth spelling of demeanor.
What words are commonly confused with "demeanour"?
"demeanour" is commonly confused with "demeanor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "demeanour" come from?
"demeanour" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "demeanour", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list