curmudgeon

/kɜːˈmʌdʒ.ən/

//kɜːˈmʌdʒ.ən// noun

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

"curmudgeon" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“curmudgeon” is uncommon English (frequency #74,008 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#74,008
frequency rank, English
43,570
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An ill-tempered person full of stubborn ideas or opinions, often an older man.

Key facts for curmudgeon
PropertyValue
Headwordcurmudgeon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɜːˈmʌdʒ.ən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#74,008
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “curmudgeon” 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). curmudgeon 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

curmudgeon is uncommon English at frequency #74,008 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kɜːˈmʌdʒ.ən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

curmudgeon has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Numerous folk etymologies exist for this word. An alternative spelling attested in 1600 is cornmudgin, in Holland's translation of Livy, rendering Latin frūmentārius (“corn-merchant”). This has been suggested as the original form of the word, but OED notes … The correct English form is curmudgeon, spelled C-U-R-M-U-D-G-E-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An ill-tempered person full of stubborn ideas or opinions, often an older man.
  2. 2
    A miser.

Etymology

Numerous folk etymologies exist for this word. An alternative spelling attested in 1600 is cornmudgin, in Holland's translation of Livy, rendering Latin frūmentārius (“corn-merchant”). This has been suggested as the original form of the word, but OED notes that curmudgeon is attested some years before this, concluding that cornmudgin was merely a nonce-word by Holland. The word is attested from the late 1500s in the forms curmudgeon and curmudgen, and during the 17th century in numerous spelling variants, including cormogeon, cormogion, cormoggian, cormudgeon, curmudgion, curmuggion, curmudgin, curr-mudgin, curre-megient.

This word in other languages

testarudo(Español)bourru(Français)Griesgram(Deutsch)caturra(Português)

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 "curmudgeon"?
"curmudgeon" is spelled C-U-R-M-U-D-G-E-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kɜːˈmʌdʒ.ən/.
What does "curmudgeon" mean?
As a noun, "curmudgeon" means: An ill-tempered person full of stubborn ideas or opinions, often an older man.
How do you pronounce "curmudgeon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "curmudgeon" is /kɜːˈmʌdʒ.ən/. 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 "curmudgeon"?
Numerous folk etymologies exist for this word. An alternative spelling attested in 1600 is cornmudgin, in Holland's translation of Livy, rendering Latin frūmentārius (“corn-merchant”). This has been suggested as the original form of the word, but ... 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 “curmudgeon”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-U-R-M-U-D-G-E-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /kɜːˈmʌdʒ.ən/ (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