cutesy

/ˈkjutsi/

//ˈkjutsi// adj

"cutesy" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cutesy” is uncommon English (frequency #51,641 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,641
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Overly, affectedly or unnecessarily cute; too cute to be taken seriously.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cutesy · cutesy · English

cutesy · rank #51,641 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,641
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH curatorial

Nearest frequency peer: curatorial (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “cutesy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cutesy” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cutesy
PropertyValue
Headwordcutesy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈkjutsi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#51,641
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cutesy” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cutesyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “curatorial” (#51,640), “cringey” (#51,638), “darshan” (#51,644). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cutesy” is #51,641. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cutesy is uncommon English at frequency #51,641 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈkjutsi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Overly, affectedly or unnecessarily cute; too cute to be taken seriously.".

cutesy has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cute + -sy. The correct English form is cutesy, spelled C-U-T-E-S-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Overly, affectedly or unnecessarily cute; too cute to be taken seriously.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cutesy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The couple called each other cutesy pet names like "honeypot" and "smoochie-poochie" that disgusted everyone else.
  2. If each subject attracts roughly the same amount of attention (and with a judgmental adjustment to drop the more cutesy papers), that's roughly 100 papers per topic.

Etymology

From cute + -sy.

Synonyms

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 "cutesy"?
"cutesy" is spelled C-U-T-E-S-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkjutsi/.
What does "cutesy" mean?
As an adjective, "cutesy" means: Overly, affectedly or unnecessarily cute; too cute to be taken seriously.
How do you pronounce "cutesy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cutesy" is /ˈkjutsi/. 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 "cutesy"?
From cute + -sy. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cutesy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list