discomfiture
/dɪsˈkʌmfɪtʃə(ɹ)/
"discomfiture" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“discomfiture” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Defeat in battle.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | discomfiture |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtʃə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “discomfiture” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for discomfiture is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtʃə(ɹ)/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for discomfiture in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French desconfiture (“rout, defeat”); compare French déconfiture. The correct English form is discomfiture, spelled D-I-S-C-O-M-F-I-T-U-R-E.
Definition
- 1Defeat in battle.
- 2An emotional state similar to that arising from defeat; frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment.
Etymology
From Old French desconfiture (“rout, defeat”); compare French déconfiture.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “discomfiture”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-S-C-O-M-F-I-T-U-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtʃə(ɹ)/ (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
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.