matriarchal
adjective
matriarchal is spelled M-A-T-R-I-A-R-C-H-A-L: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,055th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, matriarchal means “Governed by (or as if by) a matriarch” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in matriarchal?
| Letters | 11: M-A-T-R-I-A-R-C-H-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,055th 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 matriarchal?
Matriarchal appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,055th 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 matriarchal?
Matriarchal 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).
Forms of matriarchal
- more matriarchal comparative
- most matriarchal superlative
- matriarchial
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does matriarchal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Governed by (or as if by) a matriarch.
- 2
Governed by females, rather than by males.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Matriarchal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense governed by a matriarch:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | matriarcal |
| German | matriarchal, matriarchalisch, matriarchisch |
| Portuguese | matriarcal |
| Spanish | matriarcal |
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 matriarchal come from?
From matriarch + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).