fitful
/ˈfɪtf(ʊ)l/
"fitful" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fitful” is uncommon English (frequency #74,097 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #74,097
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Characterized by fits (convulsions or seizures).
Corpus desk
Index EN-fitful · fitful · English
fitful · rank #74,097 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #74,097
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH fingerless
Nearest frequency peer: fingerless (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “fitful”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Fenian
Fenian
25,909 corpus weight
- fibrin
fibrin
25,907 corpus weight
- fingerless
fingerless
25,905 corpus weight
- fitful
fitful
25,904 corpus weight
- focusses
focusses
25,901 corpus weight
- footlocker
footlocker
25,899 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “fitful” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fitful |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈfɪtf(ʊ)l/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #74,097 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “fitful” in English
Rare enough to double-check
fitful is uncommon English at frequency #74,097 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈfɪtf(ʊ)l/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for fitful in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From fit (“convulsion, seizure; sudden burst of activity”) + -ful (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, with the sense of being full of, tending to, or thoroughly possessing the quality expressed by the noun). The correct English form is fitful, spelled F-I-T-F-U-L.
Definition
- 1Characterized by fits (convulsions or seizures).
- 2Characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between; intermittent, irregular, unsteady.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how fitful appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Duncane is in his Graue: After Lifes fitfull Feuer, he ſleepes well, Treaſon ha's done his worſt: not Steele, not Poyſon, Mallice domeſtique, forraine Leuie, nothing, Can touch him further.
His breathing was fitful.
Etymology
From fit (“convulsion, seizure; sudden burst of activity”) + -ful (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, with the sense of being full of, tending to, or thoroughly possessing the quality expressed by the noun).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fitful", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).