galling

adj

"galling" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“galling” is uncommon English (frequency #51,718 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,718
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Vexing, humiliating; eliciting indignation or bitterness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-galling · galling · English

galling · rank #51,718 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,718
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH furor

Nearest frequency peer: furor (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “galling”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “galling” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for galling
PropertyValue
Headwordgalling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters7
Frequency rank#51,718
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “galling” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).gallinglands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “furor” (#51,717), “gaslighting” (#51,721), “frugality” (#51,714). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

galling is uncommon English at frequency #51,718 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Vexing, humiliating; eliciting indignation or bitterness.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for galling, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From gall + -ing. The adjective follows from the verb. The correct English form is galling, spelled G-A-L-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Vexing, humiliating; eliciting indignation or bitterness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Uruguay were quick to the ball, strong in the tackle and seemed intent on showing they were a better team than had been apparent in their defeat to Costa Rica. Yet the most galling part for England is that they helped them on their way.

Etymology

From gall + -ing. The adjective follows from the verb.

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 "galling"?
"galling" is spelled G-A-L-L-I-N-G.
What does "galling" mean?
As an adjective, "galling" means: Vexing, humiliating; eliciting indignation or bitterness.
What is the origin of the word "galling"?
From gall + -ing. The adjective follows from the verb. 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 "galling", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

What to do next

You've looked up "galling". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #51,718 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "G" letter cohort. G–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list