manliness

/ˈmænlɪnəs/

//ˈmænlɪnəs// noun

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

The verdict

“manliness” is uncommon English (frequency #51,236 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,236
frequency rank, English
36,575
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The quality of being manly; the set of qualities, traits and abilities considered appropriate to men (as opposed to women or children); similarity to a man.

Key facts for manliness
PropertyValue
Headwordmanliness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmænlɪnəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#51,236
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “manliness” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). manliness lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

manliness is uncommon English at frequency #51,236 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmænlɪnəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for manliness in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English manlynes, manlynesse. By surface analysis, manly + -ness. The correct English form is manliness, spelled M-A-N-L-I-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality of being manly; the set of qualities, traits and abilities considered appropriate to men (as opposed to women or children); similarity to a man.
  2. 2
    Male genitals.
  3. 3
    Humanity, the quality of being human.

Etymology

From Middle English manlynes, manlynesse. By surface analysis, manly + -ness.

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); 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 "manliness"?
"manliness" is spelled M-A-N-L-I-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmænlɪnəs/.
What does "manliness" mean?
As a noun, "manliness" means: The quality of being manly; the set of qualities, traits and abilities considered appropriate to men (as opposed to women or children); similarity to a man.
How do you pronounce "manliness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "manliness" is /ˈmænlɪnəs/. 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 "manliness"?
From Middle English manlynes, manlynesse. By surface analysis, manly + -ness. 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.

Using “manliness”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-A-N-L-I-N-E-S-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈmænlɪnəs/ (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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list