deviate
/ˈdiː.vi.eɪt/
"deviate" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deviate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,751 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #26,751
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 10
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To go off course from; to change course; to change plans.
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 | deviate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈdiː.vi.eɪt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #26,751 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 10 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “deviate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for deviate is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdiː.vi.eɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,751 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 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 deviate, with forms such as "ddeviate", "deivate", and "devaite". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "device", "devote", "devise", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin dēviātus, perfect passive participle of dēviō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more. Compare French dévier. The correct English form is deviate, spelled D-E-V-I-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To go off course from; to change course; to change plans.
- 2To fall outside of, or part from, some norm; to stray.
- 3To cause to diverge.
Etymology
From Late Latin dēviātus, perfect passive participle of dēviō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more. Compare French dévier.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddeviate,deivate,devaite,deviaet,deviatte,devitae,devviate,dveiate,edviate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of deviate - 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
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Using “deviate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-V-I-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdiː.vi.eɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “device” - see the side-by-side comparison. deviate vs device
- 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.