habitual
ha·bit·u·al/həˈbɪ.tʃʊ.əl/adjective, noun
habitual is spelled H-A-B-I-T-U-A-L: 8 letters and 4 syllables (ha·bit·u·al). It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, habitual means “Of or relating to a habit; established as a habit; performed over and over again; recurrent, recurring” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in habitual?
| Letters | 8: H-A-B-I-T-U-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: ha·bit·u·al |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 24,170th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is habitual?
Habitual appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th 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 habitual?
- UK /həˈbɪ.tʃʊ.əl/
- UK /həˈbɪ.tʃwəl/
- UK /-tjʊ-/
Habitual has 4 syllables, split ha·bit·u·al in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-habitual.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of habitual
- more habitual comparative
- most habitual superlative
- habituall
- habituals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does habitual mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to a habit; established as a habit; performed over and over again; recurrent, recurring.
Her habitual lying was the reason for my mistrust.
- 2
Regular or usual.
Professor Franklein took his habitual seat at the conference table.
- 3
Of a person or thing: engaging in some behaviour as a habit or regularly.
He’s a habitual chain-smoker.
- 4
Pertaining to an action performed customarily, ordinarily, or usually.
noun
- 1
colloquialOne who does something habitually, such as a serial criminal offender.
- 2
A construction representing something done habitually.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Habitual in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | habituel |
| German | gewohnt , gewöhnlich, habituell |
| Portuguese | habitual |
| Spanish | habitual |
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 habitual come from?
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English habitual (“of one's inherent disposition”), from Medieval Latin habituālis (“customary; habitual”), from Latin habitus (“character; disposition; habit; physical or emotional condition; attire, dress”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship); analysable as habit + -ual. Habitus is derived from habeō (“to have; to hold; to own; to possess”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, take”)) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs). The noun is derived from the adjective.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).