Defendent or defendant?
Did you mean defendant? Here's the right spelling and how to remember it.
Incorrect
defendent
Correct
defendant
Correct spelling: defendant. Misspelling: defendent.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
Memory tip
The person defending a case is a defendANT, with an A.
Why people write “defendent”
The endings -ant and -ent are pronounced the same way; this word takes -ant.
Spell-checkers catch the mistake in a document, but not in a handwritten note, a text message or a word game. Writing the word out a few times while saying the tricky part aloud is the quickest way to make defendant automatic.
Other misspellings of “defendant”
People also write “defendint”. Here is where each one goes wrong.
“defendint”
Correct spelling: defendant. Misspelling: defendint.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
The misspelling “defendint” is only one letter off: it writes I where defendant has A, an easy slip because in an unstressed syllable both vowels can sound like the same soft "uh".
What does “defendant” mean?
defendant noun
- a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused
Synonyms:suspect
Definitions from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Full dictionary entry
“Defendant” in a sentence
- The defendant pleaded not guilty.
Is “defendant” a playable word?
14 points in Scrabble · 16 in Words With Friends
- Scrabble (US)
- Scrabble (UK)
- Words With Friends
“defendent” is not accepted in any of these games. See every word you can make from DEFENDANT.