duress

/djʊˈɹɛs/

//djʊˈɹɛs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“duress” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,178. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,178
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Harsh treatment.

Corpus desk

Index EN-duress · duress · English

duress · rank #28,178 · 7 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,178
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dup

Nearest frequency peer: dup (-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 “duress”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “duress” 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).

duress vs durst
67% similar
duress vs dues
67% similar
duress vs dress
83% similar

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

Key facts for duress
PropertyValue
Headwordduress
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/djʊˈɹɛs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#28,178
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “duress”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).duresslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “dup” (#28,177), “dyslexia” (#28,179), “dissonance” (#28,176). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “duress” is #28,178. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around duress (IPA /djʊˈɹɛs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,178 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for duress, with forms such as "dduress", "druess", and "duerss". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "durst", "dues", "dress", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed into Middle English from Old French duresse, from Latin duritia (“hardness”), from durus (“hard”). The correct English form is duress, spelled D-U-R-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Harsh treatment.
  2. 2
    Constraint by threat.
  3. 3
    Restraint in which a person is influenced, whether by lawful or unlawful forceful compulsion of their liberty by monition or implementation of physical enforcement; legally for the incurring of civil liability, of a citizen's arrest, or of subrogation, or illegally for the committing of an offense, of forcing a contract, or of using threats.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The agreements […] made with the landlords during the time of slavery, are only the effect of duress and force.
  2. It is unclear when it was filmed and if she was under duress during filming.

Etymology

Borrowed into Middle English from Old French duresse, from Latin duritia (“hardness”), from durus (“hard”).

This word in other languages

coacción(Español)contrainte(Français)Zwang(Deutsch)coerção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • dduress
  • druess
  • duerss
  • dures
  • durress
  • durses
  • udress

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of duress - 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.

dduress1druess2duerss2dures1durress1durses2udress2
Edit distance from "duress"

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 "duress"?
"duress" is spelled D-U-R-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /djʊˈɹɛs/.
What does "duress" mean?
As a noun, "duress" means: Harsh treatment.
What words are commonly confused with "duress"?
"duress" is commonly confused with "durst", "dues", "dress". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "duress"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "duress" is /djʊˈɹɛs/. 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 "duress"?
Borrowed into Middle English from Old French duresse, from Latin duritia (“hardness”), from durus (“hard”). 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 "duress", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

earthy#28,180dieter#28,172decode#28,168dazzle#28,166

Similar misspelling depth

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

chino7 variantsbuzzed7 variantsgraze7 variantsHagen7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list