nuptials

/ˈnʌp.ʃəlz/

//ˈnʌp.ʃəlz// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"nuptials" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nuptials” is uncommon English (frequency #50,703 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,703
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A wedding ceremony.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nuptials · nuptials · English

nuptials · rank #50,703 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,703
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH noggin

Nearest frequency peer: noggin (-2 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 “nuptials”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nuptials
PropertyValue
Headwordnuptials
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnʌp.ʃəlz/
Letters8
Frequency rank#50,703
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “nuptials” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).nuptialsfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “noggin” (#50,701), “opportunism” (#50,707), “Nihon” (#50,698). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nuptials” is #50,703. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nuptials is uncommon English at frequency #50,703 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈnʌp.ʃəlz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A wedding ceremony.".

No misspelling variants are generated for nuptials in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From nuptial, borrowed from Latin nūptiālis (“pertaining to marriage”), from nūptiae (“wedding”) (also plural only), from nūpta, from nūbō (“to marry, to take as husband”), from Proto-Indo-European *sneubho-, *snewbʰ- (“to marry, wed”). Cognate with French … The correct English form is nuptials, spelled N-U-P-T-I-A-L-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A wedding ceremony.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. To Night, to Night, this fatal Moment, novv / Our dreadful Father's Nuptials are preparing, / And I muſt loſe bright Monima for ever.
  2. I hope you will not think it is any manner of disrespect to your person or merit, that the intended nuptials between us are interrupted. My father says he has a much better offer for me than you can make, and has ordered me to break off the treaty between us.

Etymology

From nuptial, borrowed from Latin nūptiālis (“pertaining to marriage”), from nūptiae (“wedding”) (also plural only), from nūpta, from nūbō (“to marry, to take as husband”), from Proto-Indo-European *sneubho-, *snewbʰ- (“to marry, wed”). Cognate with French noces and Italian nozze.

Synonyms

wedding

This word in other languages

nupcias(Español)noces(Français)núpcias(Português)

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 "nuptials"?
"nuptials" is spelled N-U-P-T-I-A-L-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnʌp.ʃəlz/.
What does "nuptials" mean?
As a noun, "nuptials" means: A wedding ceremony.
How do you pronounce "nuptials"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nuptials" is /ˈnʌp.ʃəlz/. 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 "nuptials"?
From nuptial, borrowed from Latin nūptiālis (“pertaining to marriage”), from nūptiae (“wedding”) (also plural only), from nūpta, from nūbō (“to marry, to take as husband”), from Proto-Indo-European *sneubho-, *snewbʰ- (“to marry, wed”). Cognate wi... 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 "nuptials", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

newswire#50,697Pamplona#50,713Mustapha#50,689murmured#50,687

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list