malediction
/ˌmæl.əˈdɪk.ʃən/
"malediction" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“malediction” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A curse.
Corpus desk
Index EN-malediction · malediction · English
malediction · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | malediction |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌmæl.əˈdɪk.ʃən/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “malediction” in English
Rare enough to double-check
malediction is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌmæl.əˈdɪk.ʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
malediction has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword 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: From late Middle English malediccion, from Middle French malédiction, from Latin maledictiō (“curse”) from malus (“evil”) + dictiō (“speech”) noun of action from perfect passive participle dictus (“spoken”), from verb dīcō (“speak”). The correct English form is malediction, spelled M-A-L-E-D-I-C-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1A curse.
- 2Evil speech.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how malediction appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[H]is friend, with great ebullience of paſſion, many praiſes of his own good play, and many maledictions on the power of chance, took up the cards, and threw them into the fire.
In view of all that we have said in the foregoing sections, the many obstacles we appear to have surmounted, what casts the pall over our victory celebration? It is the curse of dimensionality, a malediction that has plagued the scientist from earliest days.
Etymology
From late Middle English malediccion, from Middle French malédiction, from Latin maledictiō (“curse”) from malus (“evil”) + dictiō (“speech”) noun of action from perfect passive participle dictus (“spoken”), from verb dīcō (“speak”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.