dishonour
/dɪsˈɒnə(ɹ)/
"dishonour" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dishonour” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #41,087 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #41,087
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Shame or disgrace.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dishonour |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɪsˈɒnə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #41,087 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dishonour” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dishonour is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪsˈɒnə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #41,087 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for dishonour, with forms such as "ddishonour", "dihsonour", and "dishhonour". 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, "dishonor", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French deshonor, equivalent to dis- + honour. The correct English form is dishonour, spelled D-I-S-H-O-N-O-U-R.
Definition
- 1Shame or disgrace.
- 2Lack of honour or integrity.
- 3Failure or refusal of the drawee or intended acceptor of a negotiable instrument, such as a bill of exchange or note, to accept it or, if it is accepted, to pay and retire it.
Etymology
From Old French deshonor, equivalent to dis- + honour.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddishonour,dihsonour,dishhonour,dishnoour,dishonnour,dishonoru,dishonourr,dishonuor,dishoonur,disohnour,disshonour,dsihonour,idshonour
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dishonour - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "dishonour"?
What does "dishonour" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "dishonour"?
How do you pronounce "dishonour"?
What is the origin of the word "dishonour"?
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Using “dishonour”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-S-H-O-N-O-U-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪsˈɒnə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “dishonor” - see the side-by-side comparison. dishonour vs dishonor
- 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.