dismember

/ˌdɪsˈmɛmbə(ɹ)/

//ˌdɪsˈmɛmbə(ɹ)// verb

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

"dismember" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dismember” is uncommon English (frequency #60,770 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,770
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To remove the limbs of.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dismember · dismember · English

dismember · rank #60,770 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,770
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dirge

Nearest frequency peer: dirge (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “dismember”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “dismember” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dismember
PropertyValue
Headworddismember
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˌdɪsˈmɛmbə(ɹ)/
Letters9
Frequency rank#60,770
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dismember” in English

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).dismemberfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “dirge” (#60,769), “doggedly” (#60,771), “dinnertime” (#60,768). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dismember” is #60,770. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dismember is uncommon English at frequency #60,770 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌdɪsˈmɛmbə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

dismember has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English, from Old French desmembrer, from des- (“de-”) + membre (“limb”) + -er (“verbal suffix”). The correct English form is dismember, spelled D-I-S-M-E-M-B-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To remove the limbs of.
  2. 2
    To cut or otherwise divide something into pieces.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Death by drawing and quartering usually dismembered the condemned person.
  2. The killer methodically dismembered the bodies of his victims.

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French desmembrer, from des- (“de-”) + membre (“limb”) + -er (“verbal suffix”).

This word in other languages

descuartizar(Español)démembrer(Français)zergliedern(Deutsch)desmembrar(Português)

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 "dismember"?
"dismember" is spelled D-I-S-M-E-M-B-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌdɪsˈmɛmbə(ɹ)/.
What does "dismember" mean?
As a verb, "dismember" means: To remove the limbs of.
How do you pronounce "dismember"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dismember" is /ˌdɪsˈmɛmbə(ɹ)/. 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 "dismember"?
From Middle English, from Old French desmembrer, from des- (“de-”) + membre (“limb”) + -er (“verbal suffix”). 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 "dismember", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dominator#60,772Deutscher#60,764educative#60,784deliverer#60,752

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list