downfall
/ˈdaʊnfɔːl/
"downfall" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“downfall” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,109 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,109
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth.
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 | downfall |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdaʊnfɔːl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #14,109 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “downfall” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for downfall is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdaʊnfɔːl/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,109 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 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for downfall, with forms such as "ddownfall", "donwfall", and "dowfnall". 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, "downhill", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century. The correct English form is downfall, spelled D-O-W-N-F-A-L-L.
Definition
- 1A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth.
- 2The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error.
- 3An act of falling down.
Etymology
From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddownfall,donwfall,dowfnall,downafll,downfal,downffall,downflal,downnfall,dowwnfall,dwonfall,odwnfall
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of downfall - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “downfall”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-O-W-N-F-A-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdaʊnfɔːl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “downhill” - see the side-by-side comparison. downfall vs downhill
- 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.