crucify
/ˈkɹuːsɪfaɪ/verb
crucify is spelled C-R-U-C-I-F-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,145th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, crucify means “To execute (a person) by nailing to a cross” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in crucify?
| Letters | 7: C-R-U-C-I-F-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,145th 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 crucify?
Crucify appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,145th 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 crucify?
- /ˈkɹuːsɪfaɪ/
Crucify has 3 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)-Vealhurl-crucify.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of crucify
- crucifies present, singular, he/she/it
- crucifying participle, present
- crucified participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does crucify mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To execute (a person) by nailing to a cross.
- 2
To punish or otherwise express extreme anger at, especially as a scapegoat or target of outrage.
After his public gaffe, he was crucified in the media.
- 3
informalTo thoroughly beat at a sport or game.
West Ham beat Manchester City five nil–they crucified them!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Crucify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to execute a person by nailing to a cross:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | crucifier |
| German | kreuzigen |
| Portuguese | crucificar |
| Spanish | crucificar |
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 crucify come from?
From Middle English crucifien, from Old French crucefier, from Late Latin crucificō, from Latin crucifigō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).