detraction
/dɪˈtɹækʃən/
"detraction" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“detraction” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of detracting something, or something detracted; taking away; diminution.
Corpus desk
Index EN-detraction · detraction · English
detraction · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | detraction |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɪˈtɹækʃən/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “detraction” in English
Rare enough to double-check
detraction is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /dɪˈtɹækʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for detraction in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English detraction, detraccion, detraccioun, from Old French detraccion, from Latin dētractiō. The correct English form is detraction, spelled D-E-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of detracting something, or something detracted; taking away; diminution.
- 2A derogatory or malicious statement; a disparagement, misrepresentation or slander.
- 3The act of revealing previously unknown faults of another person to a third person.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how detraction appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
If indeed we consider all the frivolous and petulant discourse, the impertinent chattings, the rash censures, the spiteful detractions which are so rife in the world[…]
Etymology
From Middle English detraction, detraccion, detraccioun, from Old French detraccion, from Latin dētractiō.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.