deontic
/diːˈɒntɪk/adjective
deontic is spelled D-E-O-N-T-I-C: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 36 million words in written English, the 184,844th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, deontic means “Pertaining to necessity, duty or obligation, or expressions conveying this” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in deontic?
| Letters | 7: D-E-O-N-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 36 million words; the 184,844th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is deontic?
Deontic appears about once in every 36 million words in written English, the 184,844th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce deontic?
- /diːˈɒntɪk/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-deontic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with deontic?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as deontic.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ctenoid.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of deontic
- more deontic comparative
- most deontic superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does deontic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Pertaining to necessity, duty or obligation, or expressions conveying this.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Deontic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense pertaining to necessity, duty or obligation:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does deontic come from?
From Ancient Greek δέον (déon, “what is right”); compare deontology.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).