renown
/ɹɪˈnaʊn/noun, verb
renown is spelled R-E-N-O-W-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, renown means “Fame; celebrity; wide recognition” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of renown is renowns.
How many letters and syllables are in renown?
| Letters | 6: R-E-N-O-W-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,070th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is renown?
Renown appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th 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 renown?
- US /ɹɪˈnaʊn/
Renown has 2 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-renown.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with renown?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as renown from its last stressed vowel (/aʊn/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of renown
- renowns plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- renowning participle, present
- renowned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does renown mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Fame; celebrity; wide recognition.
- 2
obsoleteReports of nobleness or achievements; praise.
verb
- 1
To make famous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Renown in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Fame or wide recognition:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | renom, renommée |
| German | Ansehen, Ruf, Ruhm |
| Portuguese | renome |
| Spanish | renombre, nombradía, hao |
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 renown come from?
From Old French renoun (compare with Modern French renom), equivalent to re- + noun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).