gladness

/ˈɡlædnəs/

//ˈɡlædnəs// noun

"gladness" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gladness” is an uncommon English word, ranked #54,202 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#54,202
frequency rank, English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The state of being glad; joy.

Key facts for gladness
PropertyValue
Headwordgladness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡlædnəs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#54,202
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “gladness” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for gladness is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɡlædnəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #54,202 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The state of being glad; joy.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for gladness, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From glad + -ness. The correct English form is gladness, spelled G-L-A-D-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being glad; joy.

Etymology

From glad + -ness.

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 "gladness"?
"gladness" is spelled G-L-A-D-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡlædnəs/.
What does "gladness" mean?
As a noun, "gladness" means: The state of being glad; joy.
How do you pronounce "gladness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gladness" is /ˈɡlædnəs/. 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 "gladness"?
From glad + -ness. 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.

Using “gladness”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-L-A-D-N-E-S-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈɡlædnəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list