vilify
/ˈvɪl.ɪ.faɪ/
"vilify" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“vilify” is uncommon English (frequency #57,161 among 969 “V” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #57,161
- frequency rank, English
- 969
- “V” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To say defamatory things about someone or something; to speak ill of.
Corpus desk
Index EN-vilify · vilify · English
vilify · rank #57,161 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #57,161
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 969
- PHOTO-FINISH vespers
Nearest frequency peer: vespers (-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 “vilify”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- velour
velour
42,844 corpus weight
- verbose
verbose
42,843 corpus weight
- vespers
vespers
42,841 corpus weight
- vilify
vilify
42,840 corpus weight
- virility
virility
42,839 corpus weight
- Wahhabi
Wahhabi
42,837 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “vilify” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | vilify |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈvɪl.ɪ.faɪ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #57,161 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “vilify” in English
Rare enough to double-check
vilify is uncommon English at frequency #57,161 among 969 “V” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈvɪl.ɪ.faɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for vilify, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin vīlificāre (“vilify”). Equivalent to vile + -ify. Compare vilipend. The correct English form is vilify, spelled V-I-L-I-F-Y.
Definition
- 1To say defamatory things about someone or something; to speak ill of.
- 2To belittle through speech; to put down.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how vilify appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
As one of the largest producers of genetically modified (GM) seeds in the country, Monsanto has been vilified by activists who describe GM products as 'frankenfood.'
"Those who deliberately vilify China and sabotage the friendship between our two countries and do damage to our long-term friendship and benefits out of their sectoral or selfish interest will be cast aside in history,” he said. “Their children will be ashamed of mentioning their names."
Etymology
From Late Latin vīlificāre (“vilify”). Equivalent to vile + -ify. Compare vilipend.
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); 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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "vilify", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).