disabuse

/dɪsəˈbjuːz/

//dɪsəˈbjuːz// verb

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

"disabuse" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“disabuse” is uncommon English (frequency #93,621 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#93,621
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To free (someone) of a misconception or misapprehension; to unveil a falsehood held by (someone).

Corpus desk

Index EN-disabuse · disabuse · English

disabuse · rank #93,621 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #93,621
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dinna

Nearest frequency peer: dinna (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “disabuse”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “disabuse” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for disabuse
PropertyValue
Headworddisabuse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɪsəˈbjuːz/
Letters8
Frequency rank#93,621
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “disabuse” sits in English frequency

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).disabuselands 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 “dinna” (#93,620), “DeShawn” (#93,616), “doco” (#93,627). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

disabuse is uncommon English at frequency #93,621 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /dɪsəˈbjuːz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To free (someone) of a misconception or misapprehension; to unveil a falsehood held by (someone).".

disabuse has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dis- + abuse. Compare French désabuser. The correct English form is disabuse, spelled D-I-S-A-B-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To free (someone) of a misconception or misapprehension; to unveil a falsehood held by (someone).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I had been too profoundly disabused of life's dearest illusions ever again to allow of their sweet engrossment.
  2. If we had any hopes or illusions about the National Party before they came into office, we were disabused of them quickly.

Etymology

From dis- + abuse. Compare French désabuser.

Synonyms

undeceive

This word in other languages

desengañar(Español)détromper(Français)aufklären(Deutsch)desenganar(Português)

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 "disabuse"?
"disabuse" is spelled D-I-S-A-B-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪsəˈbjuːz/.
What does "disabuse" mean?
As a verb, "disabuse" means: To free (someone) of a misconception or misapprehension; to unveil a falsehood held by (someone).
How do you pronounce "disabuse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "disabuse" is /dɪsəˈbjuːz/. 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 "disabuse"?
From dis- + abuse. Compare French désabuser. 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 "disabuse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dendrite#93,611embezzle#93,659endowing#93,665Española#93,673

What to do next

You've looked up "disabuse". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #93,621 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list