muffle
/mʌfl̩/noun, verb
muffle is spelled M-U-F-F-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 68,248th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, muffle means “Anything that mutes or deadens sound” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of muffle is muffles.
How many letters and syllables are in muffle?
| Letters | 6: M-U-F-F-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 68,248th 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 muffle?
Muffle appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 68,248th 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 muffle?
- /mʌfl̩/
Muffle has 2 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-au-muffle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of muffle
- muffles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- muffling participle, present
- muffled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does muffle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Anything that mutes or deadens sound.
- 2
A warm piece of clothing for the hands.
- 3
archaicslangA boxing glove.
- 4
A kiln or furnace, often electric, with no direct flames (a muffle furnace)
- 5
The bare end of the nose between the nostrils, especially in ruminants.
- 6
A machine with two pulleys to hoist load by spinning wheels, polyspast, block and tackle.
verb
- 1
To wrap (a person, face etc.) in fabric or another covering, for warmth or protection; often with up.
- 2
To wrap up or cover (a source of noise) in order to deaden the sound.
to muffle the strings of a drum, or that part of an oar which rests in the rowlock
- 3
To mute or deaden (a sound etc.).
- 4
datedTo speak indistinctly, or without clear articulation.
- 5
datedTo prevent seeing, or hearing, or speaking, by wraps bound about the head; to blindfold; to deafen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Muffle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | mufla , asordinar |
| French | assourdir, étouffer , couvrir, emmitoufler |
| Portuguese | abafar, cobrir |
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 muffle come from?
From Middle English muflen (“to muffle”), aphetic alteration of Anglo-Norman amoufler, from Old French enmoufler (“to wrap up, muffle”), from moufle (“mitten”), from Medieval Latin muffula (“a muff”), of Germanic origin (–first recorded in the Capitulary of Aachen in 817 C.E.), from Frankish *muffël (“a muff, wrap, envelope”) from *mauwa (“sleeve, wrap”) (from Proto-Germanic *mawwō (“sleeve”)) + *vël (“skin, hide”) (from Proto-Germanic *fellą (“skin, film, fleece”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).