dexamethasone
/ˌdɛk.səˈmɛθ.ə.səʊn/
"dexamethasone" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dexamethasone” is uncommon English (frequency #64,315 among 26,416 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #64,315
- frequency rank, English
- 26,416
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A synthetic member of the glucocorticoid-class of steroid hormones, having the chemical formula C₂₂H₂₉FO₅, and used especially as an anti-inflammatory agent.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dexamethasone |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌdɛk.səˈmɛθ.ə.səʊn/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #64,315 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dexamethasone” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
dexamethasone is uncommon English at frequency #64,315 among 26,416 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌdɛk.səˈmɛθ.ə.səʊn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A synthetic member of the glucocorticoid-class of steroid hormones, having the chemical formula C₂₂H₂₉FO₅, and used especially as an anti-inflammatory agent.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for dexamethasone in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From dex- + -a- + -methasone (“prednisone or prednisolone derivative”). The correct English form is dexamethasone, spelled D-E-X-A-M-E-T-H-A-S-O-N-E.
Definition
- 1A synthetic member of the glucocorticoid-class of steroid hormones, having the chemical formula C₂₂H₂₉FO₅, and used especially as an anti-inflammatory agent.
Etymology
From dex- + -a- + -methasone (“prednisone or prednisolone derivative”).
This word in other languages
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 “dexamethasone”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-X-A-M-E-T-H-A-S-O-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌdɛk.səˈmɛθ.ə.səʊn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.