deprave

/dɪˈpɹeɪv/

//dɪˈpɹeɪv// verb

"deprave" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“deprave” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To speak ill of; to depreciate; to malign; to revile

Corpus desk

Index EN-deprave · deprave · English

deprave · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for deprave
PropertyValue
Headworddeprave
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɪˈpɹeɪv/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “deprave” in English

depravesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

deprave is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /dɪˈpɹeɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for deprave, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English depraven, from Old French depraver, from Latin dēprāvāre (“pervert, distort, corrupt”), from de- + pravus (“crooked, distorted, perverse, wicked”). The correct English form is deprave, spelled D-E-P-R-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To speak ill of; to depreciate; to malign; to revile
  2. 2
    To make bad or worse; to vitiate; to corrupt

Etymology

From Middle English depraven, from Old French depraver, from Latin dēprāvāre (“pervert, distort, corrupt”), from de- + pravus (“crooked, distorted, perverse, wicked”).

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "deprave"?
"deprave" is spelled D-E-P-R-A-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈpɹeɪv/.
What does "deprave" mean?
As a verb, "deprave" means: To speak ill of; to depreciate; to malign; to revile
How do you pronounce "deprave"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "deprave" is /dɪˈpɹeɪv/. 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 "deprave"?
From Middle English depraven, from Old French depraver, from Latin dēprāvāre (“pervert, distort, corrupt”), from de- + pravus (“crooked, distorted, perverse, wicked”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list