doolally
doo·lal·ly/duˈlæli/adjective
doolally is spelled D-O-O-L-A-L-L-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables (doo·lal·ly). It appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, doolally means “Eccentric; insane, mad” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in doolally?
| Letters | 8: D-O-O-L-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: doo·lal·ly |
| In writing | about once in every 42 million words; the 199,120th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is doolally?
Doolally appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th 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 doolally?
- UK /duːˈlæli/
- US /duˈlæli/
Doolally has 3 syllables, split doo·lal·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-doolally.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with doolally?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as doolally from its last stressed vowel (/æli/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of doolally
- more doolally comparative
- most doolally superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does doolally mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
IrelandUKslangEccentric; insane, mad.
- 2
IrelandUKslangCarried away by enjoyment, excitement, etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does doolally come from?
From doolally tap (“camp fever; (by extension) eccentricity; madness”), with doolally interpreted as an adjective. Doolally is derived from the Deolali transit camp, a former British army camp about 100 miles (160 kilometres) northeast of Bombay, India, used as a transit station for soldiers awaiting transport back to Britain; while tap (“Indian malarial fever”) is from Persian or Urdu تب (tab, “malarial fever”), ultimately from Sanskrit ताप (tāpa, “fever; heat; pain, torment”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).