downright
/ˈdaʊnɹaɪt/
"downright" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“downright” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,600 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #17,600
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Completely, wholly.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | downright |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈdaʊnɹaɪt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #17,600 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “downright” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for downright is 9 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdaʊnɹaɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,600 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for downright, with forms such as "ddownright", "donwright", and "downirght". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: The adverb is derived from Middle English dounright, dounriȝt (“right down, straight down; face down; vertically; used for emphasis: outright, downright”), and then either: * possibly an aphetic form of adounright (“straight down; directly, immediately (?)”… The correct English form is downright, spelled D-O-W-N-R-I-G-H-T.
Definition
- 1Completely, wholly.
- 2Of acts or speech: directly and unambiguously; clearly, plainly.
- 3Straight down; perpendicularly.
- 4Immediately at that place and time; without delay; altogether, at once, then and there.
Etymology
The adverb is derived from Middle English dounright, dounriȝt (“right down, straight down; face down; vertically; used for emphasis: outright, downright”), and then either: * possibly an aphetic form of adounright (“straight down; directly, immediately (?)”), from adoun (“downward”, adverb) (from Old English adūn, adūne (“down, downward”, adverb), ultimately from dūn (“hill, mountain”), from Proto-West Germanic *dūnā, *dūnu (“hill; sand dune”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“haze, mist; smoke”)) + right (“direct; straight; etc.”, adjective) (from Old English riht (“straight; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten”)); or * from doun (“down, downward; etc.”, adverb) (from Old English dūne (“down”), ultimately from dūn (“hill, mountain”): see above) + right. By surface analysis, down (adverb) + right (adjective). The adjective and noun are derived from the adverb. Noun noun sense 1 (“low grade of wool”) may be from the obsolete adjective adjective sense 2.2 (“in its most basic form; ordinary”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddownright,donwright,downirght,downnright,downrgiht,downrigght,downrighht,downrightt,downrigth,downrihgt,downrright,dowrnight,dowwnright,dwonright,odwnright
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of downright - 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
How do you spell "downright"?
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Using “downright”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-O-W-N-R-I-G-H-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdaʊnɹaɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.