demoralize
/dɪˈmɒɹəlaɪz/
"demoralize" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“demoralize” is uncommon English (frequency #74,890 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #74,890
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To destroy the morale of; to dishearten.
Corpus desk
Index EN-demoralize · demoralize · English
demoralize · rank #74,890 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #74,890
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH delisting
Nearest frequency peer: delisting (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “demoralize”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- dein
dein
25,114 corpus weight
- delisting
delisting
25,112 corpus weight
- demoralize
demoralize
25,111 corpus weight
- depute
depute
25,109 corpus weight
- destructor
destructor
25,108 corpus weight
- Devaney
Devaney
25,106 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “demoralize” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | demoralize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dɪˈmɒɹəlaɪz/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #74,890 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “demoralize” in English
Rare enough to double-check
demoralize is uncommon English at frequency #74,890 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /dɪˈmɒɹəlaɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
demoralize has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French démoraliser. The correct English form is demoralize, spelled D-E-M-O-R-A-L-I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1To destroy the morale of; to dishearten.
- 2To erode the moral adherence of; to corrupt.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how demoralize appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[I]f you convert a man brought up in another creed, you inevitably demoralize him.
The election of a man like Mr. Blaine would be such an encouragement to the base and rapacious impulses apt to govern the conduct of politicians, it would so demoralize the public mind and open the floodgates of corruption so wide, that it is no exaggeration to say the success of our free institutions is at stake.
Etymology
From French démoraliser.
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "demoralize", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).