pugilistic
adjective
pugilistic is spelled P-U-G-I-L-I-S-T-I-C: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 111,684th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pugilistic means “In the manner of a pugilist” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pugilistic?
| Letters | 10: P-U-G-I-L-I-S-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 111,684th 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 pugilistic?
Pugilistic appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 111,684th 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 pugilistic?
- US
Pugilistic 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-pugilistic.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pugilistic
- more pugilistic comparative
- most pugilistic superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pugilistic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
In the manner of a pugilist.
- 2
Fighting with the fists.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pugilistic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Translations:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pugilistique |
| Portuguese | pugilístico |
| Spanish | pugilístico |
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 pugilistic come from?
From pugilist + -ic, alternatively pugil + -istic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).