parlous
/ˈpɑːləs/
"parlous" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“parlous” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Attended with peril; dangerous, risky.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | parlous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈpɑːləs/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “parlous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for parlous is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɑːləs/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for parlous in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English parles, parlous, perlous, [and other forms], a contraction of perilous (“dangerous; dreadful, terrible; morally corrupt, sinful, wicked; inauspicious, unlucky”) (and thus a doublet of perilous), from Old French perilleus, perillos, peril… The correct English form is parlous, spelled P-A-R-L-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Attended with peril; dangerous, risky.
- 2Appalling, dire, terrible.
- 3Dangerously clever or cunning; also, remarkably good or unusual.
Etymology
From Middle English parles, parlous, perlous, [and other forms], a contraction of perilous (“dangerous; dreadful, terrible; morally corrupt, sinful, wicked; inauspicious, unlucky”) (and thus a doublet of perilous), from Old French perilleus, perillos, perillous, perilluse, perilleuse, perilleux (“very dangerous, perilous”) (modern French périlleux), from Latin perīculōsus (“dangerous, hazardous, perilous”), from perīculum (“danger, hazard, peril, risk”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through, carry forth, try”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “parlous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-R-L-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɑːləs/ (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.