numinous
/ˈnjuːmɪnəs/
"numinous" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“numinous” is an uncommon English word, ranked #95,200 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #95,200
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or relating to a numen (divinity); indicating the presence of a divinity.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | numinous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈnjuːmɪnəs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #95,200 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “numinous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for numinous is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈnjuːmɪnəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #95,200 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for numinous in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin nūmen (“nod of the head; divine sway or will; divinity”) + -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting possession or presence of a quality). Nūmen is believed to derive either from Latin *nuō (“to nod”) or from Ancient Greek νοούμενον (n… The correct English form is numinous, spelled N-U-M-I-N-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Of or relating to a numen (divinity); indicating the presence of a divinity.
- 2Evoking a sense of the mystical, sublime, or transcendent; awe-inspiring.
Etymology
From Latin nūmen (“nod of the head; divine sway or will; divinity”) + -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting possession or presence of a quality). Nūmen is believed to derive either from Latin *nuō (“to nod”) or from Ancient Greek νοούμενον (nooúmenon, “influence perceptible by the mind but not the senses”) (ultimately from νόος (nóos, “mind; thought; purpose”)).
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
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Using “numinous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-U-M-I-N-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈnjuːmɪnəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.