amelioration
/əˌmiːliəˈɹeɪʃən/noun
amelioration is spelled A-M-E-L-I-O-R-A-T-I-O-N: 12 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 88,353rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, amelioration means “The act of making better” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of amelioration is ameliorations.
How many letters and syllables are in amelioration?
| Letters | 12: A-M-E-L-I-O-R-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 88,353rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is amelioration?
Amelioration appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 88,353rd 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 amelioration?
- /əˌmiːliəˈɹeɪʃən/
Amelioration has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-amelioration.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of amelioration
- ameliorations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does amelioration mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of making better.
- 2
An improvement.
- 3
The process by which a term gains a more positive connotation over time.
- 4
An ameliorative change of a concept or a repertoire of concepts.
pre-amelioration
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Amelioration in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Verbesserung, Besserung , Melioration |
| Portuguese | melhoramento , melhora, melhoria |
| Spanish | mejoría, mejora, mejoramiento |
| French | amélioration |
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 amelioration come from?
From Middle English amelioracioun, from Middle French amelioracion and probably partly ameliorate + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).