fainthearted
adjective
fainthearted is spelled F-A-I-N-T-H-E-A-R-T-E-D: 12 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, fainthearted means “Faint of heart; irresolute; fearful” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in fainthearted?
| Letters | 12: F-A-I-N-T-H-E-A-R-T-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 19 million words; the 133,440th 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 fainthearted?
Fainthearted appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th 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 fainthearted?
Fainthearted 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).
Forms of fainthearted
- more fainthearted comparative
- most fainthearted superlative
- faint-hearted
- faint of heart
- faint-heart
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fainthearted mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Faint of heart; irresolute; fearful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fainthearted in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense lacking courage, timid:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | timoré |
| German | zaghaft, feige, mutlos, schüchtern, furchtsam |
| Spanish | pusilánime, medroso, apocado |
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 fainthearted come from?
From faint + hearted.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).