pusillanimity
/pjuːsɪləˈnɪmɪti/
"pusillanimity" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pusillanimity” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The quality or state of being pusillanimous; the vice of being timid and cowardly, and thus not living up to one's full potential; pusillanimousness.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pusillanimity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pjuːsɪləˈnɪmɪti/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pusillanimity” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
pusillanimity is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /pjuːsɪləˈnɪmɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The quality or state of being pusillanimous; the vice of being timid and cowardly, and thus not living up to one's full potential; pusillanimousness.".
pusillanimity doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From pusillanim(ous) + -ity, from Middle French pusillanimité, from the ecclesiastical Latin pusillanimis, from pusillus (puny) + animus (spirit) + -ous. A translation of the Greek ὀλιγόψυχος (oligópsukhos, “faint-hearted”). The correct English form is pusillanimity, spelled P-U-S-I-L-L-A-N-I-M-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1The quality or state of being pusillanimous; the vice of being timid and cowardly, and thus not living up to one's full potential; pusillanimousness.
Etymology
From pusillanim(ous) + -ity, from Middle French pusillanimité, from the ecclesiastical Latin pusillanimis, from pusillus (puny) + animus (spirit) + -ous. A translation of the Greek ὀλιγόψυχος (oligópsukhos, “faint-hearted”).
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “pusillanimity”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-U-S-I-L-L-A-N-I-M-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pjuːsɪləˈnɪmɪti/ (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.