guarded
/ˈɡɑɹdɪd/adjective, verb
guarded is spelled G-U-A-R-D-E-D: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, guarded means “Cautious; restrained” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in guarded?
| Letters | 7: G-U-A-R-D-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.3 times per million words; the 12,397th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is guarded?
Guarded appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th 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 guarded?
- US /ˈɡɑɹdɪd/
- UK /ˈɡɑːdɪd/
Guarded 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-guarded.ogg, En-gb-guarded.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-guarded.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with guarded?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as guarded from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹdɪd/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of guarded
- more guarded comparative
- most guarded superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does guarded mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Cautious; restrained.
guarded outlook
- 2
A good outcome has fair odds of happening but close monitoring is important because odds of deterioration are not low.
guarded prognosis
- 3
Watched over; supervised.
- 4
Having a guard, e.g. a crossguard (on a sword), a faceguard (on a helmet), or a hatguard (on a chapeau).
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of guard
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Guarded in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | circonspect |
| Portuguese | circunspecto , reservado |
| Spanish | circunspecto, reservado |
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.