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depose

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "depose", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "depose" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "depose" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

depose is aEnglishverb. It means: To put down; to lay down; to deposit; to lay aside; to put away. Pronounced /dɪˈpəʊz/. Often confused with dose and depot.

Key facts for depose
PropertyValue
Headworddepose
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɪˈpəʊz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#43,107
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of depose in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for depose is 6 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈpəʊz/. Corpus data places it at rank #43,107 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for depose, with forms such as "ddepose", "deopse", and "depoes". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "dose", "depot", "Devos", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded since c.1300, from Middle English, from Old French deposer, from de- (“down”) + poser (“to put, place”). Deposition (1494 in the legal sense) belongs to deposit, but that related word and depose became thoroughly confused. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is depose, spelled D-E-P-O-S-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To put down; to lay down; to deposit; to lay aside; to put away.
  2. 2
    To remove (a leader) from (high) office without killing (them).
  3. 3
    To give evidence or testimony, especially in response to interrogation during a deposition.
  4. 4
    To interrogate and elicit testimony from during a deposition, typically by a lawyer.
  5. 5
    To take or swear an oath.
  6. 6
    To testify; to bear witness; to claim; to assert; to affirm.

Etymology

Recorded since c.1300, from Middle English, from Old French deposer, from de- (“down”) + poser (“to put, place”). Deposition (1494 in the legal sense) belongs to deposit, but that related word and depose became thoroughly confused.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddepose,deopse,depoes,deposse,deppose,depsoe,dpeose,edpose

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for depose

Misspelling Variants of "depose"

ddepose7deopse6depoes6deposse7deppose7depsoe6dpeose6edpose6
Misspelling Variants of "depose"

Frequency rank: #43,107 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "depose"?
"depose" is spelled D-E-P-O-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈpəʊz/.
What does "depose" mean?
As a verb, "depose" means: To put down; to lay down; to deposit; to lay aside; to put away.
What words are commonly confused with "depose"?
"depose" is commonly confused with "dose", "depot", "Devos". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "depose"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "depose" is /dɪˈpəʊz/. 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 "depose"?
Recorded since c.1300, from Middle English, from Old French deposer, from de- (“down”) + poser (“to put, place”). Deposition (1494 in the legal sense) belongs to deposit, but that related word and depose became thoroughly confused. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter D in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.