gracious
/ˈɡɹeɪʃəs/adjective, interjection
gracious is spelled G-R-A-C-I-O-U-S: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, gracious means “Of, related to, full of, or exhibiting grace” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in gracious?
| Letters | 8: G-R-A-C-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.9 times per million words; the 13,127th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is gracious?
Gracious appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th 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 gracious?
- /ˈɡɹeɪʃəs/
Gracious has 2 syllables (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: En-us-gracious.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of gracious
- more gracious comparative
- most gracious superlative
- gratious
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gracious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, related to, full of, or exhibiting grace.
Near-synonym: graceful (overlaps)
- 2
Kind and warmly courteous.
- 3
Compassionate.
- 4
Indulgent.
- 5
Benignant.
- 6
Benevolent.
- 7
Charming.
- 8
Elegant (in appearance, conduct, movement).
The gracious movements of the figure skaters impressed the judges.
interjection
- 1
Expression of surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, boredom, or frustration.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gracious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense kind and warmly courteous:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | gütig, liebenswürdig, freundlich |
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 gracious come from?
From Middle English gracious, from Old French gracieus, from Latin gratiosus, from gratia (“esteem, favor”). See grace. Displaced native Old English hold (“gracious”). Doublet of gracioso and grazioso.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).