momentous
/moʊˈmɛn.təs/adjective
momentous is spelled M-O-M-E-N-T-O-U-S: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, momentous means “Outstanding in importance, of great consequence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in momentous?
| Letters | 9: M-O-M-E-N-T-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,070th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is momentous?
Momentous appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th 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 momentous?
- UK /məʊˈmɛn.təs/
- US /moʊˈmɛn.təs/
Momentous has 3 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-momentous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with momentous?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as momentous (/ɛntəs/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: mesonotum.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of momentous
- more momentous comparative
- most momentous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does momentous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Outstanding in importance, of great consequence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Momentous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of outstanding importance or great consequence:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | capital, considérable, fatidique, primordial, essentiel, substantiel |
| German | wichtig, bedeutsam, folgenreich, folgenschwer, denkwürdig, gewichtig |
| Portuguese | momentoso, capital, crítico, crucial, importante, memorável |
| Spanish | importante, crucial, memorable |
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 momentous come from?
From moment (“weight, importance”) + -ous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).