morose

/məˈɹəʊs/

//məˈɹəʊs// adj

"morose" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“morose” is uncommon English (frequency #56,921 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,921
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour.

Corpus desk

Index EN-morose · morose · English

morose · rank #56,921 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #56,921
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH momento

Nearest frequency peer: momento (-1 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 “morose”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for morose
PropertyValue
Headwordmorose
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/məˈɹəʊs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#56,921
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “morose” 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).morosefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “momento” (#56,920), “mukhtar” (#56,925), “multilayer” (#56,926). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “morose” is #56,921. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

morose is uncommon English at frequency #56,921 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /məˈɹəʊs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for morose in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French morose, from Latin mōrōsus (“particular, scrupulous, fastidious, self-willed, wayward, capricious, fretful, peevish”), from mōs (“way, custom, habit, self-will”). See moral. The correct English form is morose, spelled M-O-R-O-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. If there is any boy or man who loves to be melancholy and morose, and who cannot enter with kindly sympathy into the regions of fun, let me seriously advise him to shut my book and put it away. It is not meant for him.

Etymology

From French morose, from Latin mōrōsus (“particular, scrupulous, fastidious, self-willed, wayward, capricious, fretful, peevish”), from mōs (“way, custom, habit, self-will”). See moral.

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 "morose"?
"morose" is spelled M-O-R-O-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /məˈɹəʊs/.
What does "morose" mean?
As an adjective, "morose" means: Sullen, gloomy; showing a brooding ill humour.
How do you pronounce "morose"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "morose" is /məˈɹəʊs/. 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 "morose"?
From French morose, from Latin mōrōsus (“particular, scrupulous, fastidious, self-willed, wayward, capricious, fretful, peevish”), from mōs (“way, custom, habit, self-will”). See moral. 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 "morose", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list