deserving
de·serv·ing/dɪˈzɝvɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
deserving is spelled D-E-S-E-R-V-I-N-G: 9 letters and 3 syllables (de·serv·ing). It appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, deserving means “Worthy of reward or praise; meritorious” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in deserving?
| Letters | 9: D-E-S-E-R-V-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: de·serv·ing |
| In writing | 3.7 times per million words; the 13,496th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 deserving?
Deserving appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th 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 deserving?
- US /dɪˈzɝvɪŋ/
- UK /dɪˈzɜːvɪŋ/
Deserving has 3 syllables, split de·serv·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-deserving.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with deserving?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as deserving from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹvɪŋ/):
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 deserving
- more deserving comparative
- most deserving superlative
- deservings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does deserving mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Worthy of reward or praise; meritorious.
the deserving poor
- 2
Meriting, worthy (reward, punishment etc.)
noun
- 1
desert, merit
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of deserve
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Deserving in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense meriting, worthy:
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.