eclectic
/ɛkˈlɛk.tɪk/adjective, noun
eclectic is spelled E-C-L-E-C-T-I-C. The wrong spelling people search most is ecclectic: about 320 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 19 of all searches for the word. Eclectic is an adjective meaning “Selecting a mixture of what appears to be best of various doctrines, methods or styles”.
How many letters and syllables are in eclectic?
| Letters | 8: E-C-L-E-C-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 17,813th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, ecclectic, about 320 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell eclectic?
Eclectic is spelled E-C-L-E-C-T-I-C. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 19 of the searches for eclectic in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is eclectic?
Eclectic appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th 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 eclectic?
- /ɛkˈlɛk.tɪk/
- /ɪˈklɛk.tɪk/
Eclectic 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: En-us-eclectic.ogg, En-au-eclectic.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of eclectic
- more eclectic comparative
- most eclectic superlative
- eclectick
- eclectics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does eclectic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Selecting a mixture of what appears to be best of various doctrines, methods or styles.
- 2
Unrelated and unspecialized; heterogeneous.
noun
- 1
Someone who selects according to the eclectic method.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Eclectic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | éclectique , hétérogène, hétéroclite disparate, de bric et de broc |
| German | eklektisch, vielseitig , heterogen, verschiedenartig , Eklektiker |
| Portuguese | eclético |
| Spanish | ecléctico , heterogéneo, heteróclito, disparatado |
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 eclectic come from?
From French éclectique, from Ancient Greek ἐκλεκτικός (eklektikós, “selective”), from ἐκλέγω (eklégō, “to pick, choose”), from ἐκ (ek, “out, from”) + λέγω (légō, “to choose, count”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).