beguile
/bɪˈɡaɪl/verb
beguile is spelled B-E-G-U-I-L-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, beguile means “To deceive or delude (using guile)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in beguile?
| Letters | 7: B-E-G-U-I-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 90,432nd 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 beguile?
Beguile appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd 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 beguile?
- /bɪˈɡaɪl/
Beguile has 2 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: En-GB-beguile.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of beguile
- beguiles present, singular, he/she/it
- beguiling participle, present
- beguiled participle, past
- begyle
- bigyle
- bi-gyle
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does beguile mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To deceive or delude (using guile).
- 2
To charm, delight or captivate.
- 3
To cause (time) to seem to pass quickly, by way of pleasant diversion.
We beguiled the hours away.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Beguile in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | duper, tromper, induire en erreur , exalter, emporter, ravir |
| German | irreleiten, irreführen, in die Irre führen , betören, verführen |
| Portuguese | enganar , entreter, distrair, encantar |
| Spanish | engañar , cautivar |
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 beguile come from?
From Middle English begilen, begylen; equivalent to be- + guile. Compare Middle Dutch begilen (“to beguile”). Doublet of bewile.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).