dysfunctional
"dysfunctional" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dysfunctional” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #18,064 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #18,064
- frequency rank, English
- 13
- letters
- 21
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not performing its proper or intended function.
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 | dysfunctional |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #18,064 |
| Misspellings tracked | 21 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dysfunctional” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dysfunctional is 13 letters long, classified as an adjective. Corpus data places it at rank #18,064 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 21 likely wrong-spelling variants for dysfunctional, with forms such as "ddysfunctional", "dsyfunctional", and "dyfsunctional". 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, "dysfunction", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From dysfunction + -al. The correct English form is dysfunctional, spelled D-Y-S-F-U-N-C-T-I-O-N-A-L.
Definition
- 1Not performing its proper or intended function.
- 2Functioning incorrectly or abnormally; especially, designating of a business, family or social group with harmful, aberrant, strange or abnormal behavior.
Etymology
From dysfunction + -al.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddysfunctional,dsyfunctional,dyfsunctional,dysffunctional,dysfnuctional,dysfucntional,dysfuncctional,dysfuncitonal,dysfunctinoal,dysfunctioanl,dysfunctionall,dysfunctionla,dysfunctionnal,dysfunctoinal,dysfuncttional,dysfunnctional,dysfuntcional,dyssfunctional,dysufnctional,dyysfunctional,ydsfunctional
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dysfunctional - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “dysfunctional”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-Y-S-F-U-N-C-T-I-O-N-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “dysfunction” - see the side-by-side comparison. dysfunctional vs dysfunction
- 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.