desdeñar

[d̪esð̞eˈɲaɾ]

/[d̪esð̞eˈɲaɾ]/ verb

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

The verdict

“desdeñar” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #85,675 among 4,885 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,675
frequency rank, Spanish
4,885
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tratar con desdén a alguien; tratar algo con ostensible indiferencia o menosperecio; considerar inferior algo.

Corpus desk

Index ES-desdenar · desdeñar · Spanish

desdeñar · rank #85,675 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,675
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,885
  • PHOTO-FINISH desencantados

Nearest frequency peer: desencantados (+1 rank slots)

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.

Rangos de cola larga cerca de “desdeñar”

Banda escasa: las barras invierten el rango para que lo raro se lea más corto

corpus weight

What this shows Vista de cola larga: dónde “desdeñar” se sitúa frente a rangos españoles igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for desdeñar
PropertyValue
Headworddesdeñar
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[d̪esð̞eˈɲaɾ]
Letters8
Frequency rank#85,675
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “desdeñar” en español

De izquierda a derecha: las pocas palabras que cargan el habla diaria, luego la cola larga casi invisible.desdeñarcae en esta cola de rareza:

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

Los ticks avanzan en logaritmo; cada uno es del orden de diez veces más raro. Vecinos raros de la misma franja: “desencantados” (#85,676), “descuidadamente” (#85,673), “desgarre” (#85,677). Entre 4,885 lemas con “D”, “desdeñar” va en #85,675. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

desdeñar is uncommon Spanish at frequency #85,675 among 4,885 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [d̪esð̞eˈɲaɾ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Tratar con desdén a alguien; tratar algo con ostensible indiferencia o menosperecio; considerar inferior algo.".

No misspelling variants are generated for desdeñar in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable Spanish patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Spanish form is desdeñar, spelled D-E-S-D-E-Ñ-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tratar con desdén a alguien; tratar algo con ostensible indiferencia o menosperecio; considerar inferior algo.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Lo miro y desdeño en pensamiento sus mezquinas reacciones.

Synonyms

despreciarmenospreciarningunear

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 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "desdeñar"?
"desdeñar" is spelled D-E-S-D-E-Ñ-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is [d̪esð̞eˈɲaɾ].
What does "desdeñar" mean?
As a verb, "desdeñar" means: Tratar con desdén a alguien; tratar algo con ostensible indiferencia o menosperecio; considerar inferior algo.
How do you pronounce "desdeñar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "desdeñar" is [d̪esð̞eˈɲaɾ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "desdeñar" come from?
"desdeñar" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "desdeñar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

desgarre#85,677demorará#85,661develado#85,689dictarán#85,692

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list