dismay

/dɪsˈmeɪ/

//dɪsˈmeɪ// verb

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

"dismay" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dismay” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,613. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,613
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cause to feel apprehension; great sadness, or fear; to deprive of energy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dismay · dismay · English

dismay · rank #20,613 · 9 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,613
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dismal

Nearest frequency peer: dismal (-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 “dismay”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “dismay” 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).

dismay vs Disney
50% similar
dismay vs distal
67% similar
dismay vs display
71% similar

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

Key facts for dismay
PropertyValue
Headworddismay
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɪsˈmeɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#20,613
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dismay”

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).dismaylands 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 “dismal” (#20,612), “disparate” (#20,614), “discretionary” (#20,611). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dismay” is #20,613. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around dismay (IPA /dɪsˈmeɪ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #20,613 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for dismay, with forms such as "ddismay", "dimsay", and "disamy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Disney", "distal", "display", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dismayen, from Anglo-Norman *desmaiier, alteration of Old French esmaier (“to frighten”), probably from Vulgar Latin *exmagare (“to deprive (someone) of strength, to disable”), from ex- + *magare (“to enable, empower”), from Proto-German… The correct English form is dismay, spelled D-I-S-M-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cause to feel apprehension; great sadness, or fear; to deprive of energy.
  2. 2
    To render lifeless; to subdue; to disquiet.
  3. 3
    To take dismay or fright; to be filled with dismay.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed.
  2. What words be these? What fears do you dismay?

Etymology

From Middle English dismayen, from Anglo-Norman *desmaiier, alteration of Old French esmaier (“to frighten”), probably from Vulgar Latin *exmagare (“to deprive (someone) of strength, to disable”), from ex- + *magare (“to enable, empower”), from Proto-Germanic *maginą, *maganą (“might, power”), from Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- (“to be able”). Akin to Old High German magan, megin (“power, might, main”), Old English mæġen (“might, main”), Old High German magan, mugan (“to be powerful, able”), Old English magan (“to be able”). Cognate with Portuguese desmaiar (“to faint”) and Spanish esmayar. See also Portuguese esmagar, Spanish amagar. More at main, may.

This word in other languages

affliger(Français)assombrar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddismay
  • dimsay
  • disamy
  • dismayy
  • dismmay
  • dismya
  • dissmay
  • dsimay
  • idsmay

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddismay1dimsay2disamy2dismayy1dismmay1dismya2dissmay1dsimay2
Edit distance from "dismay"

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 "dismay"?
"dismay" is spelled D-I-S-M-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪsˈmeɪ/.
What does "dismay" mean?
As a verb, "dismay" means: To cause to feel apprehension; great sadness, or fear; to deprive of energy.
What words are commonly confused with "dismay"?
"dismay" is commonly confused with "Disney", "distal", "display". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dismay"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dismay" is /dɪsˈmeɪ/. 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 "dismay"?
From Middle English dismayen, from Anglo-Norman *desmaiier, alteration of Old French esmaier (“to frighten”), probably from Vulgar Latin *exmagare (“to deprive (someone) of strength, to disable”), from ex- + *magare (“to enable, empower”), from Pr... 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 "dismay", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dismal#20,612dodger#20,617Daphne#20,603curing#20,600

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

equator9 variantsetched9 variantscrouch9 variantsconvex9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list