alacrity

/əˈlækɹɨti/

//əˈlækɹɨti// noun

"alacrity" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“alacrity” is uncommon English (frequency #61,950 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,950
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Eagerness; liveliness; enthusiasm.

Corpus desk

Index EN-alacrity · alacrity · English

alacrity · rank #61,950 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,950
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ambler

Nearest frequency peer: ambler (+2 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 “alacrity”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “alacrity” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for alacrity
PropertyValue
Headwordalacrity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈlækɹɨti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#61,950
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “alacrity” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).alacrityfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “ambler” (#61,952), “agonising” (#61,947), “amla” (#61,953). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “alacrity” is #61,950. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

alacrity is uncommon English at frequency #61,950 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˈlækɹɨti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for alacrity, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Mid-15th century; from Middle English alacrite, from Latin alacritās, from alacer (“brisk”) + -itās (“-ity”). The correct English form is alacrity, spelled A-L-A-C-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Eagerness; liveliness; enthusiasm.
  2. 2
    Promptness; speed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 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. I have not that alacrity of spirit / Nor cheer of mind that I was wont to have.

Etymology

Mid-15th century; from Middle English alacrite, from Latin alacritās, from alacer (“brisk”) + -itās (“-ity”).

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

How do you spell "alacrity"?
"alacrity" is spelled A-L-A-C-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈlækɹɨti/.
What does "alacrity" mean?
As a noun, "alacrity" means: Eagerness; liveliness; enthusiasm.
How do you pronounce "alacrity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alacrity" is /əˈlækɹɨti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "alacrity"?
Mid-15th century; from Middle English alacrite, from Latin alacritās, from alacer (“brisk”) + -itās (“-ity”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list