dishonesty

/dɪsˈɒnɪ.sti/

//dɪsˈɒnɪ.sti// noun

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

"dishonesty" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dishonesty” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,243. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,243
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The characteristic or condition of being dishonest.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dishonesty · dishonesty · English

dishonesty · rank #23,243 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #23,243
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH disgraced

Nearest frequency peer: disgraced (-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 “dishonesty”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “dishonesty” 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).

dishonesty vs dishonest
90% similar

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

Key facts for dishonesty
PropertyValue
Headworddishonesty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪsˈɒnɪ.sti/
Letters10
Frequency rank#23,243
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dishonesty”

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).dishonestylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “disgraced” (#23,242), “divergence” (#23,244), “disarmament” (#23,241). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dishonesty” is #23,243. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around dishonesty (IPA /dɪsˈɒnɪ.sti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,243 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for dishonesty, with forms such as "ddishonesty", "dihsonesty", and "dishhonesty". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "dishonest", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dishoneste (“disgrace, filth”), from Old French deshoneste, equivalent to dis- + honesty or dishonest + -y. The correct English form is dishonesty, spelled D-I-S-H-O-N-E-S-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The characteristic or condition of being dishonest.
  2. 2
    An act which is fraudulent or otherwise dishonest.
  3. 3
    Shamefulness, disgrace.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He added: "We've always had spin, especially from Government. But this is not spin. This is dishonesty and so it's our rail media's urgent responsibility to call it out because non-specialist journalists across the country will report this and gradually these untruths will be accepted.
  2. His dishonesty appears in leaving his friend here in necessity and denying him.

Etymology

From Middle English dishoneste (“disgrace, filth”), from Old French deshoneste, equivalent to dis- + honesty or dishonest + -y.

Antonyms

honesty

This word in other languages

malhonnêteté(Français)Unehrlichkeit(Deutsch)desonestidade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddishonesty
  • dihsonesty
  • dishhonesty
  • dishnoesty
  • dishoensty
  • dishonessty
  • dishonestty
  • dishonestyy
  • dishonesyt
  • dishonetsy
  • dishonnesty
  • dishonsety
  • disohnesty
  • disshonesty
  • dsihonesty
  • idshonesty

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddishonesty1dihsonesty2dishhonesty1dishnoesty2dishoensty2dishonessty1dishonestty1dishonestyy1
Edit distance from "dishonesty"

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 "dishonesty"?
"dishonesty" is spelled D-I-S-H-O-N-E-S-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪsˈɒnɪ.sti/.
What does "dishonesty" mean?
As a noun, "dishonesty" means: The characteristic or condition of being dishonest.
What words are commonly confused with "dishonesty"?
"dishonesty" is commonly confused with "dishonest". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dishonesty"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dishonesty" is /dɪsˈɒnɪ.sti/. 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 "dishonesty"?
From Middle English dishoneste (“disgrace, filth”), from Old French deshoneste, equivalent to dis- + honesty or dishonest + -y. 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 "dishonesty", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

divergence#23,244councilman#23,224contiguous#23,221euthanasia#23,266

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

equivalence16 variantscommandment16 variantsmotorsport16 variantsthroughput16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list