malodorous
/ˌmælˈəʊ.də.ɹəs/
"malodorous" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“malodorous” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having a bad odor.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | malodorous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌmælˈəʊ.də.ɹəs/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “malodorous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for malodorous is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌmælˈəʊ.də.ɹəs/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for malodorous, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From mal- + odorous. The correct English form is malodorous, spelled M-A-L-O-D-O-R-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Having a bad odor.
- 2Highly improper.
Etymology
From mal- + odorous.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “malodorous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-L-O-D-O-R-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌmælˈəʊ.də.ɹəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.