nebulous
/ˈnɛbjʊləs/adjective
nebulous is spelled N-E-B-U-L-O-U-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, nebulous means “In the form of a cloud or haze; hazy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in nebulous?
| Letters | 8: N-E-B-U-L-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 39,336th 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 nebulous?
Nebulous appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th 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 nebulous?
- US /ˈnɛbjʊləs/
Nebulous 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-nebulous.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-nebulous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of nebulous
- more nebulous comparative
- most nebulous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nebulous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
In the form of a cloud or haze; hazy.
- 2
Vague or ill-defined.
- 3
Relating to a nebula or nebulae.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nebulous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | neblig, nebelig , nebulös, unklar, verworren, nebelhaft |
| Portuguese | nebuloso |
| Spanish | nebuloso , nebular |
| French | nébuleux |
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 nebulous come from?
Inherited from Middle English nebulous, from Middle French nebuleus, from Latin nebulōsus (“full of mist, foggy, cloudy”), from nebula (“mist, vapour, cloud”), from Proto-Indo-European *nébʰos (“cloud, vapor, fog, moist, sky”). By surface analysis, nebula + -ous. More at neveling, nuel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).