ennui
/ɑnˈwi/noun, verb
ennui is spelled E-N-N-U-I: 5 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ennui means “A gripping listlessness or melancholia caused by boredom; depression” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ennui is ennuis.
How many letters and syllables are in ennui?
| Letters | 5: E-N-N-U-I |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 58,714th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ennui?
Ennui appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th 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 ennui?
- UK /ɒnˈwiː/
- US /ɑnˈwi/
Ennui 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-ennui.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ennui?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ennui from its last stressed vowel (/i/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: unnie.
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 ennui
- ennuis plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ennuying participle, present
- ennuied participle, past
- ennuyed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ennui mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A gripping listlessness or melancholia caused by boredom; depression.
verb
- 1
To make bored or listless; to weary.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ennui in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | apathie, indolence , mélancolie, dépression |
| German | Langeweile, Apathie , Depression, Melancholie |
| Portuguese | tédio, enfado, fastio , melancolia, depressão |
| Spanish | tedio, aburrimiento, apatía, enuí , melancolía |
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 ennui come from?
Unadapted borrowing from French ennui, from Old French enui (“annoyance”), from enuier (modern French ennuyer), from Late Latin inodiō, from Latin in odiō (“hated”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).