The structures of multiplets in one- and two-dimensional NMR spectra can be simplified by recursive deconvolution in the frequency domain. Deconvolution procedures are described for in-phase and antiphase doublets of delta functions. Recursive simplification is illustrated by applications to double-quantum-filtered correlation spectra (DQF-COSY) and selective correlation spectra (soft-COSY). Coupling constants can be measured reliably even if signals of opposite signs lead to partial cancellation. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.