chilling
/ˈt͡ʃɪlɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
chilling is spelled C-H-I-L-L-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, chilling means “Becoming cold” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in chilling?
| Letters | 8: C-H-I-L-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.9 times per million words; the 11,373rd 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 chilling?
Chilling appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd 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 chilling?
- /ˈt͡ʃɪlɪŋ/
Chilling 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Persent101-chilling.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of chilling
- more chilling comparative
- most chilling superlative
- chillings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does chilling mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Becoming cold.
- 2
Causing cold.
- 3
Causing mild fear.
It was a chilling story, but the children enjoyed it.
noun
- 1
The act by which something is chilled.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of chill
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Chilling in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense causing mild fear:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | effrayant |
| German | gruselig, unheimlich, grauenerregend |
| Portuguese | aterrorizante |
| Spanish | escalofriante, espeluznante |
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 chilling come from?
From Middle English chilling, chelling, chyllinge, chillynge, chillande, equivalent to chill + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).