despite

/dɪˈspaɪt/

//dɪˈspaɪt// prep

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“despite” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,075. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,075
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In spite of, not with standing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-despite · despite · English

despite · rank #1,075 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,075
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH described

Nearest frequency peer: described (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “despite”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “despite” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

despite vs despot
71% similar
despite vs dispute
71% similar
despite vs desire
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for despite
PropertyValue
Headworddespite
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPreposition
IPA/dɪˈspaɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,075
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “despite”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).despitelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “described” (#1,074), “female” (#1,076), “cross” (#1,073). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “despite” is #1,075. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around despite (IPA /dɪˈspaɪt/), apreposition. Corpus frequency is #1,075 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In spite of, not with standing.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for despite, with forms such as "ddespite", "depsite", and "desipte". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "despot", "dispute", "desire", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English despit, dispit, from Old French despit, from Latin dēspectum (“looking down on”), from dēspiciō (“to look down, despise”). The preposition is derived from Middle English dispit, itself derived from the phrase in dispi… The correct English form is despite, spelled D-E-S-P-I-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    In spite of, not with standing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how despite appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Despite being a near-mirror image my of right, my left hand is terrible at these stuff.
  2. So thou through windowes of thine age ſhalt ſee, Diſpight of wrinkles this thy goulden time.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English despit, dispit, from Old French despit, from Latin dēspectum (“looking down on”), from dēspiciō (“to look down, despise”). The preposition is derived from Middle English dispit, itself derived from the phrase in dispit of (in despite of). Compare typologically Russian несмотря́ на (nesmotrjá na) (< смотре́ть (smotrétʹ)); невзира́я на (nevzirája na) (< взира́ть (vzirátʹ)), презре́в (prezrév) (< презре́ть (prezrétʹ) <~ зреть (zretʹ)) (compare despite—despise relation).

Synonyms

in spite ofmaugredespitefor allirrespective ofnotwithstandingregardless ofwithout consideringwithout regard for

Antonyms

because of

This word in other languages

a pesar de(Español)en dépit de(Français)trotz(Deutsch)apesar de(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddespite
  • depsite
  • desipte
  • despiet
  • despitte
  • desppite
  • desptie
  • desspite
  • dsepite
  • edspite

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of despite - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddespite1depsite2desipte2despiet2despitte1desppite1desptie2desspite1
Edit distance from "despite"

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

How do you spell "despite"?
"despite" is spelled D-E-S-P-I-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈspaɪt/.
What does "despite" mean?
As a preposition, "despite" means: In spite of, not with standing.
What words are commonly confused with "despite"?
"despite" is commonly confused with "despot", "dispute", "desire". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "despite"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "despite" is /dɪˈspaɪt/. 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 "despite"?
The noun is derived from Middle English despit, dispit, from Old French despit, from Latin dēspectum (“looking down on”), from dēspiciō (“to look down, despise”). The preposition is derived from Middle English dispit, itself derived from the phras... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "despite", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

content#1,071husband#1,080western#1,064leading#1,087

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

pressure10 variantsChinese10 variantscapital10 variantswelcome10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list