felon
fel·on/ˈfɛlən/adjective, noun
felon is spelled F-E-L-O-N: 5 letters and 2 syllables (fel·on). It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, felon means “Of a person or animal, their actions, thoughts, etc.: brutal, cruel, harsh, heartless; also, evil, wicked” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in felon?
| Letters | 5: F-E-L-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: fel·on |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 felon?
Felon appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd 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 felon?
- US /ˈfɛlən/
Felon has 2 syllables, split fel·on in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-felon.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with felon?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as felon from its last stressed vowel (/ɛlən/):
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 felon
- felons plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does felon mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a person or animal, their actions, thoughts, etc.: brutal, cruel, harsh, heartless; also, evil, wicked.
- 2
Of a place: harsh, savage, wild; of a thing: deadly; harmful.
- 3
obsoleterareObtained through a felony; stolen.
noun
- 1
A person who has committed a felony (“a serious criminal offence”); specifically, one who has been tried and convicted of such a crime.
- 2
obsoleteAn evil or wicked person.
- 3
obsoleteA predatory animal regarded as cruel or wicked.
- 4
A small infected sore; an abscess, a boil.
- 5
A whitlow (“infection near or under a fingernail or toenail”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Felon in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense person who has committed a felony; one who has been tried and convicted of such :
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | criminel, criminelle, délinquant |
| German | Straftäter, Straftäterin, Verbrecher, Verbrecherin, Schwerverbrecher, Schwerverbrecherin |
| Spanish | delincuente, criminal, felón |
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 felon come from?
The adjective is derived from Middle English feloun, felun (“base, wicked; hostile; of an animal: dangerous; of words: angry, harsh, slanderous; of things: dangerous, deadly; false, fraudulent; unlucky”) [and other forms], from Old French felon (“bad, evil, immoral”) (compare fel (“evil; despicable, vile”)), from Early Medieval Latin fellōnem; further etymology uncertain. Doublet of fell (“of a strong and cruel nature; fierce; grim; ruthless, savage”). Etymology 1, adjective sense 3 (“obtained through a felony”) is derived from the noun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).