dementia

/dɪˈmɛnʃə/

//dɪˈmɛnʃə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“dementia” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,190. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,190
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Areas particularly affected include memory, attention, judgement, ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-dementia · dementia · English

dementia · rank #10,190 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #10,190
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH decorations

Nearest frequency peer: decorations (-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 “dementia”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “dementia” 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).

dementia vs demented
75% similar

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

Key facts for dementia
PropertyValue
Headworddementia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪˈmɛnʃə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#10,190
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dementia”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “decorations” (#10,189), “Dawson” (#10,188), “designation” (#10,192). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dementia” is #10,190. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around dementia (IPA /dɪˈmɛnʃə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,190 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for dementia, with forms such as "ddementia", "deemntia", and "demenita". 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, "demented", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin dementia. The correct English form is dementia, spelled D-E-M-E-N-T-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Areas particularly affected include memory, attention, judgement, language and problem solving.
  2. 2
    Madness or insanity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems— […]. Such a slow-release device containing angiogenic factors could be placed on the pia mater covering the cerebral cortex and tested in persons with senile dementia in long term studies.
  2. In recent years some clinical trials involving potential dementia drugs have had disappointing setbacks.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dementia.

This word in other languages

demencia(Español)démence(Français)Demenz(Deutsch)demência(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddementia
  • deemntia
  • demenita
  • demenntia
  • dementai
  • dementtia
  • demetnia
  • demmentia
  • demnetia
  • dmeentia
  • edmentia

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddementia1deemntia2demenita2demenntia1dementai2dementtia1demetnia2demmentia1
Edit distance from "dementia"

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 "dementia"?
"dementia" is spelled D-E-M-E-N-T-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈmɛnʃə/.
What does "dementia" mean?
As a noun, "dementia" means: A progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Areas particularly affected include memory, attention, judgement, ...
What words are commonly confused with "dementia"?
"dementia" is commonly confused with "demented". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dementia"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dementia" is /dɪˈmɛnʃə/. 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 "dementia"?
Borrowed from Latin dementia. 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 "dementia", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

dispatch#10,198disputed#10,199catalyst#10,177betrayed#10,166

Similar misspelling depth

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

cruelty11 variantsbrewing11 variantsformats11 variantsGardner11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list