blemish
blem·ish/ˈblɛmɪʃ/noun, verb
blemish is spelled B-L-E-M-I-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables (blem·ish). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, blemish means “A small flaw which spoils the appearance of something, a stain, a spot” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of blemish is blemishes.
How many letters and syllables are in blemish?
| Letters | 7: B-L-E-M-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: blem·ish |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,912th 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 blemish?
Blemish appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th 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 blemish?
- /ˈblɛmɪʃ/
Blemish has 2 syllables, split blem·ish in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-blemish.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of blemish
- blemishes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- blemishing participle, present
- blemished participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does blemish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small flaw which spoils the appearance of something, a stain, a spot.
- 2
A moral defect; a character flaw.
verb
- 1
To spoil the appearance of.
- 2
To tarnish (reputation, character, etc.); to defame.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Blemish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tache, imperfection , défaut |
| German | Makel, Schönheitsfehler |
| Portuguese | mácula, mancha |
| Spanish | mancha, marca, maca, tacha, tara , defecto |
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 blemish come from?
From Middle English blemisshen, blemissen, from Old French blemiss-, stem of Old French blemir, blesmir (“make pale, injure, wound, bruise”) (French blêmir), from Old Frankish *blesmijan, *blasmijan (“to make pale”), from Old Frankish *blasmī (“pale”), from Proto-Germanic *blasaz (“white, pale”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shine”). Cognate with Dutch bles (“white spot”), German blass (“pale”), Old English āblered (“bare, uncovered, bald, shaven”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).