bluntness

/ˈblʌnt.nəs/

//ˈblʌnt.nəs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bluntness" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bluntness” is uncommon English (frequency #69,691 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,691
frequency rank, English
31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The characteristic of being blunt.

Key facts for bluntness
PropertyValue
Headwordbluntness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈblʌnt.nəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#69,691
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bluntness” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). bluntness lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bluntness is uncommon English at frequency #69,691 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈblʌnt.nəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The characteristic of being blunt.".

Zero misspellings are on record for bluntness in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bluntnes, bluntnesse, equivalent to blunt + -ness. The correct English form is bluntness, spelled B-L-U-N-T-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The characteristic of being blunt.

Etymology

From Middle English bluntnes, bluntnesse, equivalent to blunt + -ness.

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 "bluntness"?
"bluntness" is spelled B-L-U-N-T-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblʌnt.nəs/.
What does "bluntness" mean?
As a noun, "bluntness" means: The characteristic of being blunt.
How do you pronounce "bluntness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bluntness" is /ˈblʌnt.nəs/. 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 "bluntness"?
From Middle English bluntnes, bluntnesse, equivalent to blunt + -ness. 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.

Using “bluntness”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-L-U-N-T-N-E-S-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈblʌnt.nəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list