ghoul
/ɡuːl/noun
ghoul is spelled G-H-O-U-L: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,236th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ghoul means “A demon said to feed on corpses” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ghoul is ghouls.
How many letters and syllables are in ghoul?
| Letters | 5: G-H-O-U-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,236th 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 ghoul?
Ghoul appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,236th 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 ghoul?
- /ɡuːl/
- /ɡʊəl/
- British /ɡʉw(ə)l/
Ghoul has one syllable (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)-Vealhurl-ghoul.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-ghoul.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ghoul?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as ghoul.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lough.
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 ghoul
- ghouls plural
- ghole
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ghoul mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A demon said to feed on corpses.
- 2
A graverobber.
- 3
A person with an undue interest in death and corpses, or more generally in things that are revolting and repulsive.
- 4
colloquialderogatoryA person with a callous or uncaring attitude to human life and suffering, particularly when prioritizing economic concerns.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ghoul in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | goule |
| German | Ghul , Grabräuber |
| Portuguese | ghoul, carniçal, gula, guli, goule |
| Spanish | gul, demonio necrófago |
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 ghoul come from?
Borrowed from French goule, from Persian غول (ġul) from Arabic غُول (ḡūl).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).