diabolical

Name: diabolical, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

[ˌdaɪəˈbɒlɪkəɫ]

/[ˌdaɪəˈbɒlɪkəɫ]/ adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“diabolical” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,395. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,395
frequency rank, English: 3,470
“D” headwords: 14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or concerning the devil: devilish, satanic.

Corpus desk

Index EN-diabolical · diabolical · English

diabolical · rank #30,395 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #30,395
LEN-MEGA 10 letters
VOW-5 5 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 14 variants
BOOK-MID 3,470
PHOTO-FINISH dilated

Nearest frequency peer: dilated (+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.

delirium

69,610
Descartes

69,608
diabolical

69,606
dilated

69,605
disarray

69,604
disinformat…

69,603

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

Key facts for diabolical
Property	Value
Headword	diabolical
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	[ˌdaɪəˈbɒlɪkəɫ]
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#30,395
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “diabolical”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).diabolicallands here:

#30,395

#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 “dilated” (#30,396), “Descartes” (#30,393), “disarray” (#30,397). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “diabolical” is #30,395. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around diabolical (IPA [ˌdaɪəˈbɒlɪkəɫ]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #30,395 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for diabolical, with forms such as "daibolical", "ddiabolical", and "diabbolical". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From diabolic + -al. The correct English form is diabolical, spelled D-I-A-B-O-L-I-C-A-L.

Definition

1
Of or concerning the devil: devilish, satanic.
2
Extremely wicked or cruel.
3
(Devilishly) cunning or devious.
4
Crazy, wild (sometimes especially due to being unexpected or surprising).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

[…] the many diabolical names assigned to boiling springs and to torrents that become dangerously swollen. In California the boiling springs called 'Devil's Tea-kettle' and 'Devil's Mush-pot' repeat the 'Devil's Punch-bowls' of Europe[…]
a diabolical plan

Etymology

From diabolic + -al.

This word in other languages

diabólico(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

daibolical
ddiabolical
diabbolical
diabloical
diaboilcal
diabolcial
diaboliacl
diabolicall
diaboliccal
diabolicla
diabollical
diaoblical
dibaolical
idabolical

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of diabolical - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "diabolical"

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 "diabolical"?

"diabolical" is spelled D-I-A-B-O-L-I-C-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌdaɪəˈbɒlɪkəɫ].

What does "diabolical" mean?

As an adjective, "diabolical" means: Of or concerning the devil: devilish, satanic.

What are common misspellings of "diabolical"?

Common misspellings include "daibolical", "ddiabolical", "diabbolical", "diabloical", "diaboilcal". The correct spelling is "diabolical".

How do you pronounce "diabolical"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "diabolical" is [ˌdaɪəˈbɒlɪkəɫ]. 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 "diabolical"?

From diabolic + -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 "diabolical", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

eloquently#30,408 expendable#30,410 chimpanzee#30,362 fracturing#30,430

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

Descartes14 variants deference14 variants contented14 variants fieldwork14 variants