disinterested
/(ˌ)dɪsˈɪntɹɪstɪd/
"disinterested" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“disinterested” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #32,354 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #32,354
- frequency rank, English
- 13
- letters
- 20
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having no interest or stake in the outcome, and no conflicts of interest; free of bias, impartial.
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 | disinterested |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /(ˌ)dɪsˈɪntɹɪstɪd/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #32,354 |
| Misspellings tracked | 20 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “disinterested” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for disinterested is 13 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /(ˌ)dɪsˈɪntɹɪstɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #32,354 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for disinterested, with forms such as "ddisinterested", "diisnterested", and "disinetrested". 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, "disinterest", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From disinterest (“to cause to be impartial”, verb) + -ed (suffix forming past tense or past participle forms of verbs), or from dis- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + interested (“having a stake in; showing interest”, adjective). The correct English form is disinterested, spelled D-I-S-I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-E-D.
Definition
- 1Having no interest or stake in the outcome, and no conflicts of interest; free of bias, impartial.
- 2Synonym of uninterested (“not interested; not concerned; indifferent”).
Etymology
From disinterest (“to cause to be impartial”, verb) + -ed (suffix forming past tense or past participle forms of verbs), or from dis- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + interested (“having a stake in; showing interest”, adjective).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddisinterested,diisnterested,disinetrested,disinnterested,disinteersted,disinteresetd,disinteressted,disinterestde,disinterestedd,disinterestted,disinteretsed,disinterrested,disinterseted,disintreested,disintterested,disitnerested,disniterested,dissinterested,dsiinterested,idsinterested
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of disinterested - 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
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Using “disinterested”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-S-I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /(ˌ)dɪsˈɪntɹɪstɪd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “disinterest” - see the side-by-side comparison. disinterested vs disinterest
- 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.