malady

/ˈmæl.ə.di/

//ˈmæl.ə.di// noun

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

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

The verdict

“malady” is uncommon English (frequency #50,057 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,057
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any ailment or disease of the body; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder.

Corpus desk

Index EN-malady · malady · English

malady · rank #50,057 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,057
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mahone

Nearest frequency peer: mahone (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “malady”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “malady” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for malady
PropertyValue
Headwordmalady
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmæl.ə.di/
Letters6
Frequency rank#50,057
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “malady” in English

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).maladyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “mahone” (#50,056), “Magyar” (#50,055), “Mantua” (#50,059). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “malady” is #50,057. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

malady is uncommon English at frequency #50,057 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmæl.ə.di/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for malady in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English maladie, from Old French maladie (“sickness, illness, disease”), from malade (“ill, sick”), from Latin male habitus (“ill-kept, not in good condition”), 1st century AD. See also malice and habit. The correct English form is malady, spelled M-A-L-A-D-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any ailment or disease of the body; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder.
  2. 2
    A moral or mental defect or disorder.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. As, to prevent our maladies unseen, / We sicken to shun sickness when we purge.
  2. The maladies of the body may prove medicines of the mind.

Etymology

From Middle English maladie, from Old French maladie (“sickness, illness, disease”), from malade (“ill, sick”), from Latin male habitus (“ill-kept, not in good condition”), 1st century AD. See also malice and habit.

Synonyms

ailmentdiseasedisorderdistemperillnesssickness

This word in other languages

mal(Español)maladie(Français)Krankheit(Deutsch)mal(Português)

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 "malady"?
"malady" is spelled M-A-L-A-D-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmæl.ə.di/.
What does "malady" mean?
As a noun, "malady" means: Any ailment or disease of the body; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder.
How do you pronounce "malady"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "malady" is /ˈmæl.ə.di/. 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 "malady"?
From Middle English maladie, from Old French maladie (“sickness, illness, disease”), from malade (“ill, sick”), from Latin male habitus (“ill-kept, not in good condition”), 1st century AD. See also malice and habit. 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 "malady", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

mahone#50,056Magyar#50,055Mantua#50,059Marche#50,060

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list