literary
/ˈlɪt.əˌɹɛɹ.i/adjective
literary is spelled L-I-T-E-R-A-R-Y: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,224th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, literary means “Relating to literature” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in literary?
| Letters | 8: L-I-T-E-R-A-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 20 times per million words; the 4,224th 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 literary?
Literary appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,224th 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 literary?
- UK /ˈlɪt.(ə.)ɹə.ɹi/
- UK /ˈlɪt.(ə.)ɹi/
- US /ˈlɪt.əˌɹɛɹ.i/
Literary 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: En-us-literary.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of literary
- more literary comparative
- most literary superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does literary mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Relating to literature.
literary fame
- 2
Relating to writers, or the profession of literature.
a literary man
- 3
Knowledgeable of literature or writing.
- 4
Appropriate to literature rather than everyday writing.
- 5
Bookish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Literary in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | littéraire |
| German | literarisch, schriftstellerisch , schriftstellerisch (tätig) , gehoben |
| Portuguese | literário |
| Spanish | literario |
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 literary come from?
From French littéraire.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).