besetting
noun, adjective, verb
besetting is spelled B-E-S-E-T-T-I-N-G: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 107,757th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, besetting means “The act of one who besets or attacks” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of besetting is besettings.
How many letters and syllables are in besetting?
| Letters | 9: B-E-S-E-T-T-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 107,757th 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 besetting?
Besetting appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 107,757th 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 besetting?
Besetting has 3 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).
Forms of besetting
- besettings plural
- more besetting comparative
- most besetting superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does besetting mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of one who besets or attacks.
adjective
- 1
Deeply rooted; persistent.
Rickie would not push himself. It was his besetting sin.
- 2
Obsessive
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of beset
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does besetting come from?
From beset + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).