detracting

adj

"detracting" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“detracting” is uncommon English (frequency #73,122 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,122
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - That detracts.

Corpus desk

Index EN-detracting · detracting · English

detracting · rank #73,122 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #73,122
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Devitt

Nearest frequency peer: Devitt (+2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “detracting”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “detracting” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for detracting
PropertyValue
Headworddetracting
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters10
Frequency rank#73,122
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “detracting” in English

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Devitt” (#73,124), “destabilise” (#73,118), “diatonic” (#73,126). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “detracting” is #73,122. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

detracting is uncommon English at frequency #73,122 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "That detracts.".

detracting has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is detracting, spelled D-E-T-R-A-C-T-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    That detracts.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Neither is there any thing in the condition of the laborer, more taxing to human exertion, more detracting from honorable self-respect, than any other occupation; on the contrary, agriculture, if we reason from realities, and not prejudices, is the truly noble occupation of life.
  2. "In vino veritas," properly translated, means—that when a man is fairly under the influence of liquor, you see a strong manifestation of his real character. The vain man is vainer, the voluble, more voluble, the morose, more morose; the passionate, more passionate, the detractor, more detracting; the sycophant, more sycophantic, and so forth.

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 "detracting"?
"detracting" is spelled D-E-T-R-A-C-T-I-N-G.
What does "detracting" mean?
As an adjective, "detracting" means: That detracts.
What language does "detracting" come from?
"detracting" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "detracting", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list