bumptious
/ˈbʌmpʃəs/
"bumptious" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bumptious” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Obtrusively pushy; self-important; self-assertive to a pretentious extreme.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bumptious |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈbʌmpʃəs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bumptious” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bumptious is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbʌmpʃəs/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Obtrusively pushy; self-important; self-assertive to a pretentious extreme.".
Zero misspellings are on record for bumptious in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Probably from bump, on the pattern of words like fractious or presumptious. The correct English form is bumptious, spelled B-U-M-P-T-I-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Obtrusively pushy; self-important; self-assertive to a pretentious extreme.
Etymology
Probably from bump, on the pattern of words like fractious or presumptious.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “bumptious”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-U-M-P-T-I-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbʌmpʃəs/ (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
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.