merriment

/ˈmɛɹimɪnt/

//ˈmɛɹimɪnt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“merriment” is uncommon English (frequency #52,488 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,488
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A state of enjoyable exuberance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-merriment · merriment · English

merriment · rank #52,488 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,488
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH MDM

Nearest frequency peer: MDM (-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 “merriment”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for merriment
PropertyValue
Headwordmerriment
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɛɹimɪnt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#52,488
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “merriment” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).merrimentfalls 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: “MDM” (#52,486), “McKellar” (#52,485), “McGinnis” (#52,484). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “merriment” is #52,488. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

merriment is uncommon English at frequency #52,488 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmɛɹimɪnt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for merriment, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From merry + -ment. The correct English form is merriment, spelled M-E-R-R-I-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A state of enjoyable exuberance.
  2. 2
    Playful fun.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Hugh laughed again, and with such thorough abandonment to his mad humour, that his limbs seemed dislocated, and his whole frame in danger of tumbling to pieces; but Mr Tappertit, so far from receiving this extreme merriment with any irritation, was pleased to regard it with the utmost favour, and even to join in it, so far as one of his gravity and statio…
  2. It is recorded that this remarkable prophecy, now largely fulfilled, was received with much merriment—an undeserved fate.

Etymology

From merry + -ment.

This word in other languages

alegría(Español)gaieté(Français)Überschwang(Deutsch)

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 "merriment"?
"merriment" is spelled M-E-R-R-I-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɛɹimɪnt/.
What does "merriment" mean?
As a noun, "merriment" means: A state of enjoyable exuberance.
How do you pronounce "merriment"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "merriment" is /ˈmɛɹimɪnt/. 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 "merriment"?
From merry + -ment. 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 "merriment", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

misbehave#52,493misshapen#52,496Montezuma#52,505Llandudno#52,465

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list