deteriorate
/dɪˈtɪə.ɹɪə.ɹeɪt/
"deteriorate" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deteriorate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,804 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #23,804
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make worse; to make inferior in quality or value; to impair.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | deteriorate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dɪˈtɪə.ɹɪə.ɹeɪt/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #23,804 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “deteriorate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for deteriorate is 11 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈtɪə.ɹɪə.ɹeɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,804 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for deteriorate, with forms such as "ddeteriorate", "deetriorate", and "deteirorate". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Late Latin dēteriorātus, perfect passive participle of Late Latin dēteriorō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), further from Latin dēterior (“worse”). Cognate with French détériorer. The correct English form is deteriorate, spelled D-E-T-E-R-I-O-R-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To make worse; to make inferior in quality or value; to impair.
- 2To grow worse; to be impaired in quality; to degenerate.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin dēteriorātus, perfect passive participle of Late Latin dēteriorō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), further from Latin dēterior (“worse”). Cognate with French détériorer.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddeteriorate,deetriorate,deteirorate,deterioarte,deterioraet,deterioratte,deteriorrate,deteriortae,deteriroate,deteroirate,deterriorate,detreiorate,detteriorate,dteeriorate,edteriorate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of deteriorate - 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.
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 "deteriorate"?
What does "deteriorate" mean?
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Using “deteriorate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-T-E-R-I-O-R-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪˈtɪə.ɹɪə.ɹeɪt/ (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.