querulous
/ˈkwɛɹ(j)ʊləs/
"querulous" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“querulous” 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
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Often complaining; suggesting a complaint in expression; fretful, whining.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | querulous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkwɛɹ(j)ʊləs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “querulous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for querulous is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkwɛɹ(j)ʊləs/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Often complaining; suggesting a complaint in expression; fretful, whining.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for querulous, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. 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 Old French querelos, from Late Latin querulōsus, from Latin querulus, from queror (“to complain”). The correct English form is querulous, spelled Q-U-E-R-U-L-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Often complaining; suggesting a complaint in expression; fretful, whining.
Etymology
From Old French querelos, from Late Latin querulōsus, from Latin querulus, from queror (“to complain”).
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 “querulous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is Q-U-E-R-U-L-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkwɛɹ(j)ʊləs/ (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.