gleeful

/ˈɡliːfəl/

//ˈɡliːfəl// adj

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

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

The verdict

“gleeful” is uncommon English (frequency #57,407 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,407
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Exuberantly or triumphantly joyful.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gleeful · gleeful · English

gleeful · rank #57,407 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,407
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH glasshouse

Nearest frequency peer: glasshouse (-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 “gleeful”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gleeful
PropertyValue
Headwordgleeful
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɡliːfəl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#57,407
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “gleeful” in English

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).gleefulfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “glasshouse” (#57,406), “gluck” (#57,408), “gild” (#57,405). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gleeful” is #57,407. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gleeful is uncommon English at frequency #57,407 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈɡliːfəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Exuberantly or triumphantly joyful.".

gleeful doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From glee + -ful. The correct English form is gleeful, spelled G-L-E-E-F-U-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exuberantly or triumphantly joyful.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. During [Tucker] Carlson’s keynote, he wedged sneers at his critics for crying “racist!” in between racist remarks about [Ilhan] Omar, jeremiads against the media (“I know there’s a bunch of reporters here, so . . . screw you”), and an attack on Elizabeth Warren and her donors (“She’s a tragedy, because she’s now obsessed with racism, which is why the fina…

Etymology

From glee + -ful.

Synonyms

elatedexhilaratedhigh-spiritedoverjoyed

This word in other languages

beato(Español)schadenfroh(Deutsch)

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 "gleeful"?
"gleeful" is spelled G-L-E-E-F-U-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡliːfəl/.
What does "gleeful" mean?
As an adjective, "gleeful" means: Exuberantly or triumphantly joyful.
How do you pronounce "gleeful"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gleeful" is /ˈɡliːfəl/. 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 "gleeful"?
From glee + -ful. 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 "gleeful", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Guangxi#57,415hawkish#57,421formica#57,392foramen#57,389

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list