noncommittal
/ˌnɑnkəˈmɪtl̩/adjective, noun
noncommittal is spelled N-O-N-C-O-M-M-I-T-T-A-L: 12 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 76,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, noncommittal means “Tending to avoid commitment; lacking certainty or decisiveness; reluctant to give out information or show one's feelings or opinion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in noncommittal?
| Letters | 12: N-O-N-C-O-M-M-I-T-T-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 76,798th 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 noncommittal?
Noncommittal appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 76,798th 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 noncommittal?
- UK /ˌnɒnkəˈmɪtl̩/
- US /ˌnɑnkəˈmɪtl̩/
Noncommittal has 4 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-noncommittal.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of noncommittal
- more noncommittal comparative
- most noncommittal superlative
- non-commital
- noncommital
- non-committal
- noncommittals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does noncommittal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Tending to avoid commitment; lacking certainty or decisiveness; reluctant to give out information or show one's feelings or opinion.
The Major's face was noncommittal.
noun
- 1
Failure to commit to a decision or course of action.
- 2
A voter etc. who has not yet committed to a decision.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Noncommittal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tending to avoid commitment:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | évasif |
| German | unverbindlich |
| Portuguese | sem compromisso |
| Spanish | no comprometedor, poco comprometedor, sin compromiso |
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 noncommittal come from?
From non- + committal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).