fretful
/ˈfɹɛtfəl/adjective
fretful is spelled F-R-E-T-F-U-L: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 99,289th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, fretful means “Unable to relax: fidgety; restless; worried; anxious” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in fretful?
| Letters | 7: F-R-E-T-F-U-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 11 million words; the 99,289th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 fretful?
Fretful appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 99,289th 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 fretful?
- /ˈfɹɛtfəl/
Fretful has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Sapaa-fretful.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with fretful?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as fretful.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: truffle.
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 fretful
- more fretful comparative
- most fretful superlative
- fretfull
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fretful mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Unable to relax: fidgety; restless; worried; anxious.
- 2
Irritable; bad-tempered; grumpy; peevish.
Near-synonyms: fractious, petulant, waspish, impatient, angry, annoyed
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fretful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | irritable , agité, fébrile |
| German | gereizt, schlechtgelaunt, übelgelaunt , ruhelos |
| Spanish | irritable, gruñón |
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 fretful come from?
From fret + -ful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).