detest
/dɪˈtɛst/
"detest" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“detest” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #34,016 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #34,016
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 15
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To dislike (someone or something) intensely; to loathe.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | detest |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dɪˈtɛst/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #34,016 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 15 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “detest” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for detest is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈtɛst/. Corpus data places it at rank #34,016 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 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for detest, with forms such as "ddetest", "deetst", and "detesst". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "digest", "divest", "driest", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *tréyes From Middle French detester (French détester), from Latin dētestor (“to imprecate evil while calling the gods to witness", "denounce", "hate intensely”), from dē- + testor (“to testify, bear witness”), from testis (“a witness”); see test, … The correct English form is detest, spelled D-E-T-E-S-T.
Definition
- 1To dislike (someone or something) intensely; to loathe.
- 2To witness against; to denounce; to condemn.
Etymology
PIE word *tréyes From Middle French detester (French détester), from Latin dētestor (“to imprecate evil while calling the gods to witness", "denounce", "hate intensely”), from dē- + testor (“to testify, bear witness”), from testis (“a witness”); see test, testify. Doublet of detestate.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddetest,deetst,detesst,detestt,detets,detset,dettest,dteest,edtest
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of detest - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “detest”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-T-E-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪˈtɛst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “digest” - see the side-by-side comparison. detest vs digest
- 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.