forsooth
/fɔɹˈsuθ/
"forsooth" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“forsooth” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used as an intensifier, often ironic: indeed, really, truthfully.
Corpus desk
Index EN-forsooth · forsooth · English
forsooth · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | forsooth |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /fɔɹˈsuθ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “forsooth” in English
Rare enough to double-check
forsooth is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed /fɔɹˈsuθ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Used as an intensifier, often ironic: indeed, really, truthfully.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for forsooth, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English forsothe, forsoþe, for sothe, from Old English for sōþ (“truly, for certain, forsooth”), equivalent to for (“for, by”) + sooth (“truth”). The correct English form is forsooth, spelled F-O-R-S-O-O-T-H.
Definition
- 1Used as an intensifier, often ironic: indeed, really, truthfully.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how forsooth appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
A fit man, forsooth, to governe a realme!
[F]or certes, ſayes he, / I haue already choſen my officer, and what was he? / Forſooth, a great Arithmeticion, [...]
Etymology
From Middle English forsothe, forsoþe, for sothe, from Old English for sōþ (“truly, for certain, forsooth”), equivalent to for (“for, by”) + sooth (“truth”).
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.