indecency
/ɪnˈdiːsənsi/noun
indecency is spelled I-N-D-E-C-E-N-C-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, indecency means “Lack of decency; the property or degree of being indecent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of indecency is indecencies.
How many letters and syllables are in indecency?
| Letters | 9: I-N-D-E-C-E-N-C-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,767th 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 indecency?
Indecency appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th 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 indecency?
- /ɪnˈdiːsənsi/
Indecency has 4 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)-Wodencafe-indecency.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of indecency
- indecencies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does indecency mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Lack of decency; the property or degree of being indecent.
One sure sign of indecency is criticizing foreigners constantly, but remaining silent about the problems within your own land, or by your own people, or both.
- 2
Something showing lack of decency; something (such as a word) that is indecent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Indecency in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense lack of decency:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | indécence |
| German | Unanständigkeit, Anstößigkeit |
| Portuguese | indecência |
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 indecency come from?
From in- + decent + -cy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).