gritty
/ˈɡɹɪti/adjective
gritty is spelled G-R-I-T-T-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, gritty means “Containing sand or grit; consisting of grit; caused by grit; full of hard particles” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in gritty?
| Letters | 6: G-R-I-T-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd 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 gritty?
Gritty appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd 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 gritty?
- /ˈɡɹɪti/
Gritty 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-gritty.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of gritty
- grittier comparative
- grittiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gritty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Containing sand or grit; consisting of grit; caused by grit; full of hard particles.
- 2
Spirited; resolute; unyielding.
That goth woman is very gritty.
- 3
Intense and starkly realistic; depicting harsh reality, especially violence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gritty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | graveleux , résolu, déterminé |
| German | sandig, grobkörnig , mutig, entschlossen, resolut, unnachgiebig |
| Portuguese | arenoso, granuloso |
| Spanish | gravilloso, arenoso , resoluto , descarnado |
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 gritty come from?
From grit + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).