destitution
/dɛstɪˈtuːʃən/
"destitution" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“destitution” is an uncommon English word, ranked #57,336 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #57,336
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The action of deserting or abandoning.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | destitution |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɛstɪˈtuːʃən/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #57,336 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “destitution” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for destitution is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɛstɪˈtuːʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #57,336 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for destitution in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French destitution, from Latin dēstitūtiō (“abandoning”), from dēstituō. The correct English form is destitution, spelled D-E-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The action of deserting or abandoning.
- 2Discharge from office; dismissal.
- 3The condition of lacking something.
- 4An extreme state of poverty, in which a person is almost completely lacking in resources or means of support.
Etymology
From Old French destitution, from Latin dēstitūtiō (“abandoning”), from dēstituō.
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); 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
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Using “destitution”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɛstɪˈtuːʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.