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PlainSpell

even

e·ven/ˈiːvən/adjective, verb, adverb, noun

even is spelled E-V-E-N: 4 letters and 2 syllables (e·ven). It appears 977 times per million words in written English, the 111th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, even means “Flat and level” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in even?

Letters4: E-V-E-N
Syllables2: e·ven
In writing977 times per million words; the 111th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Same letters

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 even?

Even appears 977 times per million words in written English, the 111th 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 even?

  • /ˈiːvən/
  • [ˈɪi̯vən] ~ [ˈɪi̯vn̩]

Even has 2 syllables, split e·ven in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-even.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Even.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with even?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as even.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: neve.

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 even

  • evener comparative
  • more even comparative
  • evenest superlative
  • most even superlative
  • eben
  • e'en
  • evens present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • evening participle, present
  • evened participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does even mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Flat and level.

    Clear out those rocks. The surface must be even.

  2. 2

    Without great variation.

    Despite her fear, she spoke in an even voice.

  3. 3

    Equal in proportion, quantity, size, etc.

    The distribution of food must be even.

  4. 4

    Of an integer, divisible by two.

    Four, fourteen and forty are even numbers.

  5. 5

    informalOf a number, convenient for rounding other numbers to; for example, ending in a zero.

  6. 6

    On equal monetary terms; neither owing nor being owed.

  7. 7

    colloquialOn equal terms of a moral sort; quits.

    You biffed me back at the barn, and I biffed you here–so now we're even.

  8. 8

    Parallel; on a level; reaching the same limit.

verb

  1. 1

    To make flat and level.

    We need to even this playing field; the west goal is too low.

  2. 2

    obsoleteTo equal or equate; to make the same.

  3. 3

    obsoleteTo be equal.

    Thrice nine evens twenty seven.

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo place in an equal state, as to obligation, or in a state in which nothing is due on either side; to balance, as accounts; to make quits.

    We need to even the score.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo set right; to complete.

  6. 6

    obsoleteTo act up to; to keep pace with.

adverb

  1. 1

    archaicExactly; just; fully.

    I fulfilled my instructions even as I had promised.

  2. 2

    In reality (used to imply an extreme example in the case mentioned).

    Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes.

  3. 3

    Used to emphasise a comparative.

    I was strong before, but now I am even stronger.

  4. 4

    Used to indicate a further degree of comparison.

    Bob is taller than Alice, but Cameron is even taller than Bob.

  5. 5

    Rather; that is (used to signal a correction of a previous utterance).

    My favorite actor is Jack Nicklaus. Jack Nicholson, even.

noun

  1. 1

    An even number.

    So let's see. There are two evens here and three odds.

  2. 2

    archaicEvening.

    We'll meet at even, when the sun is set.

noun

as Even
  1. 1

    A member of an indigenous people living in Siberia and the Russian Far East.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Even in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchplat (flat and level), monotone, uniforme (without great variation), régulier (equal), pair (arithmetic: divisible by two), aplatir (to make even)
Germaneben (flat and level), gleichmäßig (without great variation), gleich (equal), gerade (arithmetic: divisible by two), ebnen (to make even), sogar (implying extreme example)
Portugueseplano, nivelado (flat and level), uniforme, constante, padronizado (without great variation), quite (equal)
Spanishparejo, llano (flat and level), igual (equal), par (arithmetic: divisible by two), allanar (to make even), parches (on equal terms morally)

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 even come from?

From Middle English even, from Old English efn (“flat; level, even, equal”), from Proto-West Germanic *ebn, from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)em-no- (“equal, straight; flat, level, even”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after even