dread

/dɹɛd/

//dɹɛd// verb

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

"dread" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dread” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,227. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,227
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To fear greatly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dread · dread · English

dread · rank #12,227 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,227
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH disrespectful

Nearest frequency peer: disrespectful (-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 “dread”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “dread” 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).

dread vs drew
60% similar
dread vs dyed
60% similar
dread vs dream
80% similar

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

Key facts for dread
PropertyValue
Headworddread
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɹɛd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#12,227
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dread”

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).dreadlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “disrespectful” (#12,226), “dub” (#12,228), “dictatorship” (#12,225). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dread” is #12,227. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around dread (IPA /dɹɛd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #12,227 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for dread, with forms such as "ddread", "derad", and "draed". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "drew", "dyed", "dream", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan (“to fear, dread”), aphetic form of ondrǣdan (“to fear, dread”), from Proto-West Germanic *andarādan, equivalent to Old English and- + rǣdan (whence read); corresponding to an aphesis of earlier adread. Ak… The correct English form is dread, spelled D-R-E-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To fear greatly.
  2. 2
    To anticipate with fear.
  3. 3
    To be in dread, or great fear.
  4. 4
    To style (the hair) into dreadlocks.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I'm dreading getting the results of the test, as it could decide my whole life.
  2. Day by day, hole by hole our bearing reins were shortened, and instead of looking forward with pleasure to having my harness put on as I used to do, I began to dread it.

Etymology

From Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan (“to fear, dread”), aphetic form of ondrǣdan (“to fear, dread”), from Proto-West Germanic *andarādan, equivalent to Old English and- + rǣdan (whence read); corresponding to an aphesis of earlier adread. Akin to Old Saxon antdrādan, andrādan (“to fear, dread”), Old High German intrātan (“to fear”), Middle High German entrāten (“to fear, dread, frighten”).

This word in other languages

temer(Español)redouter(Français)schaudern(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddread
  • derad
  • draed
  • dreadd
  • dreda
  • drread
  • rdead

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dread - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddread1derad2draed2dreadd1dreda2drread1rdead2
Edit distance from "dread"

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 "dread"?
"dread" is spelled D-R-E-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /dɹɛd/.
What does "dread" mean?
As a verb, "dread" means: To fear greatly.
What words are commonly confused with "dread"?
"dread" is commonly confused with "drew", "dyed", "dream". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dread"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dread" is /dɹɛd/. 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 "dread"?
From Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan (“to fear, dread”), aphetic form of ondrǣdan (“to fear, dread”), from Proto-West Germanic *andarādan, equivalent to Old English and- + rǣdan (whence read); corresponding to an aphesis of earlier ... 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 "dread", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dummy#12,229flank#12,241flare#12,242forex#12,245

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

camel7 variantskitten7 variantsbaton7 variantsBarrett7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list