devious

/ˈdiː.vi.əs/

//ˈdiː.vi.əs// adj

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

"devious" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“devious” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,807. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,807
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Cunning or deceiving, not straightforward or honest, not frank.

Corpus desk

Index EN-devious · devious · English

devious · rank #27,807 · 9 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,807
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Devine

Nearest frequency peer: Devine (-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 “devious”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “devious” 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).

devious vs Devos
57% similar
devious vs devout
71% similar
devious vs devour
71% similar

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

Key facts for devious
PropertyValue
Headworddevious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈdiː.vi.əs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#27,807
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “devious”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).deviouslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Devine” (#27,806), “deviant” (#27,805), “desolation” (#27,804). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “devious” is #27,807. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around devious (IPA /ˈdiː.vi.əs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #27,807 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for devious, with forms such as "ddevious", "deivous", and "deviosu". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Devos", "devout", "devour", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1590s, "out of the common or direct way," from Latin devius (“out of the way, remote, off the main road”), from de via, from de (“off”) (see de-) + via (“way, road”). Compare deviate. Originally in the Latin literal sense; the figurative sense of "deceitful… The correct English form is devious, spelled D-E-V-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cunning or deceiving, not straightforward or honest, not frank.
  2. 2
    Roundabout, circuitous, deviating from the direct or ordinary route.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The wandering Arab never sets his tent Within her walls; the Shepherd eyes afar Her evil towers, and devious drives his flock.
  2. Keeping close in to the shore, they discovered, after two hours run, a fresh stream which burst in a cascade from the mountains, and swept its devious course through the jungle, until it poured its tribute into the waters of the Strait.

Etymology

1590s, "out of the common or direct way," from Latin devius (“out of the way, remote, off the main road”), from de via, from de (“off”) (see de-) + via (“way, road”). Compare deviate. Originally in the Latin literal sense; the figurative sense of "deceitful" is first recorded 1630s. Related to deviously, deviousness. Figurative senses of the Latin word were "retired, sequestered, wandering in the byways, foolish, inconsistent."

This word in other languages

artero(Español)rusé(Français)heimtückisch(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddevious
  • deivous
  • deviosu
  • deviouss
  • deviuos
  • devoius
  • devvious
  • dveious
  • edvious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of devious - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ddevious1deivous2deviosu2deviouss1deviuos2devoius2devvious1dveious2
Edit distance from "devious"

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 "devious"?
"devious" is spelled D-E-V-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdiː.vi.əs/.
What does "devious" mean?
As an adjective, "devious" means: Cunning or deceiving, not straightforward or honest, not frank.
What words are commonly confused with "devious"?
"devious" is commonly confused with "Devos", "devout", "devour". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "devious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "devious" is /ˈdiː.vi.əs/. 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 "devious"?
1590s, "out of the common or direct way," from Latin devius (“out of the way, remote, off the main road”), from de via, from de (“off”) (see de-) + via (“way, road”). Compare deviate. Originally in the Latin literal sense; the figurative sense of ... 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 "devious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

deviant#27,805dubstep#27,818crocker#27,795Edelman#27,823

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

corset9 variantsConley9 variantsfewest9 variantsCheung9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list