eminent
/ˈɛmɪnənt/adjective
eminent is spelled E-M-I-N-E-N-T: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.6 times per million words in written English, the 13,695th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “eminent vs imminent” about 5,400 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, eminent means “Noteworthy, remarkable, great” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in eminent?
| Letters | 7: E-M-I-N-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.6 times per million words; the 13,695th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); 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 common is eminent?
Eminent appears 3.6 times per million words in written English, the 13,695th 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 eminent?
- /ˈɛmɪnənt/
Eminent 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-eminent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with eminent
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of eminent
- more eminent comparative
- most eminent superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does eminent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Noteworthy, remarkable, great.
His eminent good sense has been a godsend to this project.
- 2
Distinguished, important, noteworthy.
In later years, the professor became known as an eminent historian.
- 3
archaicHigh, lofty.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Eminent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | remarquable , éminent |
| German | ausgesprochen , angesehen |
| Portuguese | eminente |
| Spanish | prócer , eminente, esclarecido, excelso, egregio, preclaro |
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 eminent come from?
From Middle French éminent, from Latin present participle ēminēns, ēminentis, from verb ēmineō (“to project, protrude”), from ex- (“out of, from”) + mineō, related to mons (English mount). Compare with imminent. Unrelated to emanate, which is instead from mānō (“to flow”). Displaced native Old English deal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).