encumbered
/ɪnˈkʌmbəd/adjective, verb
encumbered is spelled E-N-C-U-M-B-E-R-E-D: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, encumbered means “Weighted down, loaded sufficiently to make slow” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in encumbered?
| Letters | 10: E-N-C-U-M-B-E-R-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 59,387th 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 encumbered?
Encumbered appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th 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 encumbered?
- UK /ɪnˈkʌmbəd/
Encumbered 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-encumbered.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of encumbered
- more encumbered comparative
- most encumbered superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does encumbered mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Weighted down, loaded sufficiently to make slow.
A ship loaded with too much cargo is encumbered.
- 2
Burdened by financial debt, mortgages, or other legal obligations.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of encumber
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Encumbered in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense weighted down, loaded sufficiently to make slow:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | behindert, belastet, verschuldet |
| Spanish | lastrado |
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.