lecherous

/ˈlɛtʃ.ə.ɹəs/

//ˈlɛtʃ.ə.ɹəs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"lecherous" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lecherous” is uncommon English (frequency #63,758 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,758
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Given to excessive sexual activity and debauchery.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lecherous · lecherous · English

lecherous · rank #63,758 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,758
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lamppost

Nearest frequency peer: lamppost (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “lecherous”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “lecherous” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for lecherous
PropertyValue
Headwordlecherous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈlɛtʃ.ə.ɹəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#63,758
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “lecherous” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).lecherousfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “lamppost” (#63,756), “laddie” (#63,753), “LACMA” (#63,752). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lecherous” is #63,758. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lecherous is uncommon English at frequency #63,758 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈlɛtʃ.ə.ɹəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Given to excessive sexual activity and debauchery.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for lecherous in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English lecherous, licherous, from Old French *lecherous (attested in Old French lecherousement (“lecherously”)), from Old French lecherie, licherie (“gluttony, sensuality, lewdness, lechery”), from Old French lecher, lechier, lekier, lescher (“… The correct English form is lecherous, spelled L-E-C-H-E-R-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Given to excessive sexual activity and debauchery.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how lecherous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Adam was a perfectly satisfactory dinner companion, if not a bit damp and blandly lecherous (he revealed he had looked at my Instagram before we met and “really liked the photos of me in a bathing suit.”) And now, standing on the street corner, it was unclear how I was going to walk away from this without an awkward shutdown.

Etymology

From Middle English lecherous, licherous, from Old French *lecherous (attested in Old French lecherousement (“lecherously”)), from Old French lecherie, licherie (“gluttony, sensuality, lewdness, lechery”), from Old French lecher, lechier, lekier, lescher (“to lick, live in gluttony or sensuality”), from Old Frankish *lekkōn, *likkōn (“to lick”), from Proto-Germanic *likkōną (“to lick”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵʰ- (“to lick”), equivalent to lecher + -ous. More at lick.

This word in other languages

libidinoso(Español)lubrique(Français)lüstern(Deutsch)libidinoso(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lecherous"?
"lecherous" is spelled L-E-C-H-E-R-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛtʃ.ə.ɹəs/.
What does "lecherous" mean?
As an adjective, "lecherous" means: Given to excessive sexual activity and debauchery.
How do you pronounce "lecherous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lecherous" is /ˈlɛtʃ.ə.ɹəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "lecherous"?
From Middle English lecherous, licherous, from Old French *lecherous (attested in Old French lecherousement (“lecherously”)), from Old French lecherie, licherie (“gluttony, sensuality, lewdness, lechery”), from Old French lecher, lechier, lekier, ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lecherous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

litigator#63,766macchiato#63,774Kingswood#63,739manhunter#63,782

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list