formaldehyde
for·mal·de·hyde/fɔː(ɹ)ˈmældɪhaɪd/noun
formaldehyde is spelled F-O-R-M-A-L-D-E-H-Y-D-E: 12 letters and 4 syllables (for·mal·de·hyde). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, formaldehyde means “The simplest aldehyde, HCHO, a colourless gas that has many industrial applications; it dissolves in water to give formol (10%) and formalin” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of formaldehyde is formaldehydes.
How many letters and syllables are in formaldehyde?
| Letters | 12: F-O-R-M-A-L-D-E-H-Y-D-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: for·mal·de·hyde |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,017th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is formaldehyde?
Formaldehyde appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th 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 formaldehyde?
- /fɔː(ɹ)ˈmældɪhaɪd/
Formaldehyde has 4 syllables, split for·mal·de·hyde in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-formaldehyde.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of formaldehyde
- formaldehydes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does formaldehyde mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The simplest aldehyde, HCHO, a colourless gas that has many industrial applications; it dissolves in water to give formol (10%) and formalin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Formaldehyde in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the organic compound HCHO:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | formaldéhyde |
| German | Formaldehyd |
| Portuguese | formaldeído |
| Spanish | formaldehído |
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 formaldehyde come from?
From form(yl) + aldehyde.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).