gelatinous

/d͡ʒəˈlæt.ɪn.əs/

//d͡ʒəˈlæt.ɪn.əs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"gelatinous" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gelatinous” is uncommon English (frequency #51,134 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,134
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Jelly-like.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gelatinous · gelatinous · English

gelatinous · rank #51,134 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,134
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH Gennady

Nearest frequency peer: Gennady (+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 “gelatinous”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gelatinous
PropertyValue
Headwordgelatinous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/d͡ʒəˈlæt.ɪn.əs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#51,134
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “gelatinous” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).gelatinousfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Gennady” (#51,135), “gauche” (#51,132), “Georgiana” (#51,136). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gelatinous” is #51,134. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gelatinous is uncommon English at frequency #51,134 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /d͡ʒəˈlæt.ɪn.əs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for gelatinous in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From gelatine + -ous; probably modeled on French gélatineux. The correct English form is gelatinous, spelled G-E-L-A-T-I-N-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Jelly-like.
  2. 2
    Of or referring to gelatin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In certain star-fishes, small depressions in the layer of pigment which surrounds the nerve are filled, as described by the author just quoted, with transparent gelatinous matter, and this projects outwardly with a convex surface, like the cornea in the higher animals.
  2. Everyone listened, and everyone was listening still when It lumbered slobberingly into sight and gropingly squeezed Its gelatinous green immensity through the black doorway into the tainted outside air of that poison city of madness.

Etymology

From gelatine + -ous; probably modeled on French gélatineux.

Synonyms

gelatinousjellyliketremellose

Antonyms

runnyfluid

This word in other languages

gelatinoso(Español)gélatineux(Français)gelatineartig(Deutsch)gelatinoso(Português)

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 "gelatinous"?
"gelatinous" is spelled G-E-L-A-T-I-N-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /d͡ʒəˈlæt.ɪn.əs/.
What does "gelatinous" mean?
As an adjective, "gelatinous" means: Jelly-like.
How do you pronounce "gelatinous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gelatinous" is /d͡ʒəˈlæt.ɪn.əs/. 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 "gelatinous"?
From gelatine + -ous; probably modeled on French gélatineux. 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 "gelatinous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gobsmacked#51,139gooseberry#51,143Flintshire#51,118fibreglass#51,112

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list