alacrity
a·lac·ri·ty/əˈlakrᵻti/noun
alacrity is spelled A-L-A-C-R-I-T-Y: 8 letters and 4 syllables (a·lac·ri·ty). It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,179th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, alacrity means “Eagerness; liveliness; enthusiasm” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of alacrity is alacrities.
How many letters and syllables are in alacrity?
| Letters | 8: A-L-A-C-R-I-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: a·lac·ri·ty |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 62,179th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is alacrity?
Alacrity appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,179th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce alacrity?
- UK /əˈlakrᵻti/
- /əˈlæk.rə.ti/
Alacrity has 4 syllables, split a·lac·ri·ty in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-alacrity.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of alacrity
- alacrities plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does alacrity mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Eagerness; liveliness; enthusiasm.
Besides, a wealthy man, well at ease, may pray to God quietly and merrily with alacrity and great quietness of mind, whereas he who lieth groaning in his grief cannot endure to pray nor can he hardly think upon anything but his pain.
- 2
Promptness; speed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Alacrity in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | alacrité, empressement , rapidité |
| German | Eifer , Unverzüglichkeit |
| Portuguese | alacridade, alegria, ânimo |
| Spanish | esmero, alacridad , presteza, prontitud |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does alacrity come from?
Mid-15th century; from Middle English alacrite, from Latin alacritās, from alacer (“brisk”) + -itās (“-ity”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).