godliness

/ˈɡɒd.li.nəs/

//ˈɡɒd.li.nəs// noun

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

"godliness" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“godliness” is uncommon English (frequency #51,140 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,140
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The condition and quality of being godly, pious, scrupulously observant of all the teachings of one's religion, practicing virtue and avoiding sin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-godliness · godliness · English

godliness · rank #51,140 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,140
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gobsmacked

Nearest frequency peer: gobsmacked (-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 “godliness”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for godliness
PropertyValue
Headwordgodliness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡɒd.li.nəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#51,140
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “godliness” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).godlinessfalls 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: “gobsmacked” (#51,139), “gnocchi” (#51,138), “Glennon” (#51,137). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “godliness” is #51,140. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

godliness is uncommon English at frequency #51,140 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡɒd.li.nəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The condition and quality of being godly, pious, scrupulously observant of all the teachings of one's religion, practicing virtue and avoiding sin.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for godliness 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 its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From godly + -ness. The correct English form is godliness, spelled G-O-D-L-I-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The condition and quality of being godly, pious, scrupulously observant of all the teachings of one's religion, practicing virtue and avoiding sin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Bishops, Priests, and Deacons are not commanded by God's laws either to vow the estate of single life or to abstain from marriage. Therefore it is lawful also for them, as for all other Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve better to godliness.
  2. Nay, but he prated, And spoke such scurvy and provoking terms Against your honour That, with the little godliness I have, I did full hard forbear him.

Etymology

From godly + -ness.

This word in other languages

piété(Français)Göttlichkeit(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 "godliness"?
"godliness" is spelled G-O-D-L-I-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɒd.li.nəs/.
What does "godliness" mean?
As a noun, "godliness" means: The condition and quality of being godly, pious, scrupulously observant of all the teachings of one's religion, practicing virtue and avoiding sin.
How do you pronounce "godliness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "godliness" is /ˈɡɒd.li.nəs/. 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 "godliness"?
From godly + -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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "godliness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Georgiana#51,136handlebar#51,154Heffernan#51,159Hutchings#51,167

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list