flinty

/ˈflɪnti/

//ˈflɪnti// adj

"flinty" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“flinty” is uncommon English (frequency #92,615 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,615
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Resembling or containing flint; hard like flint.

Corpus desk

Index EN-flinty · flinty · English

flinty · rank #92,615 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #92,615
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH flippy

Nearest frequency peer: flippy (+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 “flinty”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “flinty” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for flinty
PropertyValue
Headwordflinty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈflɪnti/
Letters6
Frequency rank#92,615
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “flinty” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).flintyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “flippy” (#92,616), “flavonoid” (#92,613), “folklife” (#92,617). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “flinty” is #92,615. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

flinty is uncommon English at frequency #92,615 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈflɪnti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for flinty in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From flint + -y. The correct English form is flinty, spelled F-L-I-N-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Resembling or containing flint; hard like flint.
  2. 2
    Siliceous (including basanite).
  3. 3
    Showing a lack of emotion.
  4. 4
    Having a taste characteristic of certain white wines, especially Chablis, supposed to evoke the sensation of flint striking steel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how flinty appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It was late at night and frosty; high above them on the hills the cloppety clop, cloppety clop of a horse's hooves picking their way on the flinty stone track died away in the distance.
  2. flinty slate

Etymology

From flint + -y.

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

How do you spell "flinty"?
"flinty" is spelled F-L-I-N-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈflɪnti/.
What does "flinty" mean?
As an adjective, "flinty" means: Resembling or containing flint; hard like flint.
How do you pronounce "flinty"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flinty" is /ˈflɪnti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "flinty"?
From flint + -y. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "flinty", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list