demise

/dɪˈmaɪz/

//dɪˈmaɪz// noun

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

"demise" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“demise” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,866 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#11,866
frequency rank, English
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

demise vs Dems
50% similar
demise vs dense
67% similar
demise vs Denis
50% similar

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

Key facts for demise
PropertyValue
Headworddemise
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪˈmaɪz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#11,866
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “demise” 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). demise lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for demise is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈmaɪz/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,866 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for demise, with forms such as "ddemise", "deimse", and "demies". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Dems", "dense", "Denis", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English demyse, dimise, dimisse, dymyse, from Middle French démise, the feminine singular past participle of démettre (“to put down, relinquish”); from Latin dēmissa, feminine singular of perfect passive participle of dēmittō. The "death" and "e… The correct English form is demise, spelled D-E-M-I-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter.
  2. 2
    Transmission by formal act or conveyance to an heir or successor; transference; especially, the transfer or transmission of the crown or royal authority to a successor.
  3. 3
    Death; decease.
  4. 4
    The end of something, in a negative sense; downfall.
  5. 5
    The atmospheric disintegration of a satellite or satellite component upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere.

Etymology

From Middle English demyse, dimise, dimisse, dymyse, from Middle French démise, the feminine singular past participle of démettre (“to put down, relinquish”); from Latin dēmissa, feminine singular of perfect passive participle of dēmittō. The "death" and "end" senses derive by way of euphemism from the legal sense, as a person's death was a common way that the legal demise could be accomplished. The verb is from Middle English dimisen, from the noun.

This word in other languages

quiebra(Español)transfert(Français)Verpachtung(Deutsch)transferência(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddemise,deimse,demies,demisse,demmise,demsie,dmeise,edmise

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddemise1deimse2demies2demisse1demmise1demsie2dmeise2edmise2
Edit distance from "demise"

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 "demise"?
"demise" is spelled D-E-M-I-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈmaɪz/.
What does "demise" mean?
As a noun, "demise" means: The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter.
What words are commonly confused with "demise"?
"demise" is commonly confused with "Dems", "dense", "Denis". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "demise"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "demise" is /dɪˈmaɪz/. 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 "demise"?
From Middle English demyse, dimise, dimisse, dymyse, from Middle French démise, the feminine singular past participle of démettre (“to put down, relinquish”); from Latin dēmissa, feminine singular of perfect passive participle of dēmittō. The "dea... 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.

Using “demise”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-E-M-I-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /dɪˈmaɪz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Dems” - see the side-by-side comparison. demise vs Dems
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list