developmental

/dɪˌvɛləpˈmɛntəl/

//dɪˌvɛləpˈmɛntəl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"developmental" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“developmental” has 20 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,874. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,874
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
20
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-developmental · developmental · English

developmental · rank #9,874 · 20 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,874
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 20 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH depths

Nearest frequency peer: depths (-1 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “developmental”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “developmental” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

developmental vs developmentally
87% similar
developmental vs development
85% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for developmental
PropertyValue
Headworddevelopmental
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/dɪˌvɛləpˈmɛntəl/
Letters13
Frequency rank#9,874
Misspellings tracked20
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “developmental”

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

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “depths” (#9,873), “disco” (#9,875), “departed” (#9,872). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “developmental” is #9,874. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 20 spelling variants around developmental (IPA /dɪˌvɛləpˈmɛntəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #9,874 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Related to development.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for developmental, with forms such as "ddevelopmental", "deevlopmental", and "devellopmental". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "developmentally", "development", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From development + -al. The correct English form is developmental, spelled D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Related to development.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Developmental psychology studies how the mind forms as children and adolescents grow.

Etymology

From development + -al.

This word in other languages

desarrollista(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddevelopmental
  • deevlopmental
  • devellopmental
  • develompental
  • developemntal
  • developmenatl
  • developmenntal
  • developmentall
  • developmentla
  • developmenttal
  • developmetnal
  • developmmental
  • developmnetal
  • developpmental
  • develpomental
  • deveolpmental
  • devleopmental
  • devvelopmental
  • dveelopmental
  • edvelopmental

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of developmental - 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.

ddevelopmental1deevlopmental2devellopmental1develompental2developemntal2developmenatl2developmenntal1developmentall1
Edit distance from "developmental"

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 "developmental"?
"developmental" is spelled D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˌvɛləpˈmɛntəl/.
What does "developmental" mean?
As an adjective, "developmental" means: Related to development.
What words are commonly confused with "developmental"?
"developmental" is commonly confused with "developmentally", "development". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "developmental"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "developmental" is /dɪˌvɛləpˈmɛntəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "developmental"?
From development + -al. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 "developmental", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

collaborative#9,860encouragement#9,742commissioners#10,016communicating#10,017

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (20 here; floor ≥5).

northwestern20 variantspsychologist20 variantsalternatively20 variantsunprecedented20 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list