dogged
/ˈdɔɡɪd/adjective, adverb, verb
dogged is spelled D-O-G-G-E-D: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, dogged means “stubbornly persevering, steadfast” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dogged?
| Letters | 6: D-O-G-G-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,017th 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 dogged?
Dogged appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th 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 dogged?
- UK /ˈdɒɡɪd/
- US /ˈdɔɡɪd/
As a verb: /dɒɡd/, /dɔɡd/, /dɑɡd/.
Dogged has one syllable (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-dogged_(adj).wav, En-au-dogged.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dogged
- more dogged comparative
- most dogged superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dogged mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
stubbornly persevering, steadfast
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of dog
adverb
- 1
datedslangvery
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dogged in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense stubbornly persevering, steadfast:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tenace, opiniâtre, obstiné |
| German | beharrlich, hartnäckig, stur, zäh, verbissen |
| Portuguese | perseverante, tenaz, obstinado |
| Spanish | obstinado, tenaz, perseverante |
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 dogged come from?
From Middle English dogged, doggid, doggyd (“characteristics similar to that of a dog”), equivalent to dog + -ed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).