contumelious
/ˌkɒn.tjʊˈmiː.li.əs/
"contumelious" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“contumelious” 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
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Rudely contemptuous; showing contumely; exhibiting an insolent or disdainful attitude.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | contumelious |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌkɒn.tjʊˈmiː.li.əs/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “contumelious” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for contumelious is 12 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌkɒn.tjʊˈmiː.li.əs/. 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: "Rudely contemptuous; showing contumely; exhibiting an insolent or disdainful attitude.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for contumelious, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French contumelieus, from Latin contumēliōsus (“insulting; abusive”), from contumēlia (“affront, abuse, insult”). The correct English form is contumelious, spelled C-O-N-T-U-M-E-L-I-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Rudely contemptuous; showing contumely; exhibiting an insolent or disdainful attitude.
Etymology
From Old French contumelieus, from Latin contumēliōsus (“insulting; abusive”), from contumēlia (“affront, abuse, insult”).
Synonyms
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
How do you spell "contumelious"?
What does "contumelious" mean?
How do you pronounce "contumelious"?
What is the origin of the word "contumelious"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “contumelious”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-N-T-U-M-E-L-I-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkɒn.tjʊˈmiː.li.əs/ (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.