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rigmarole

/ˈɹɪɡməɹoʊl/noun, adjective

rigmarole is spelled R-I-G-M-A-R-O-L-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 102,771st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “rigamarole vs rigmarole” about 590 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, rigmarole means “A long and complicated formal procedure” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rigmarole is rigmaroles.

How many letters and syllables are in rigmarole?

Letters9: R-I-G-M-A-R-O-L-E
In writingabout once in every 12 million words; the 102,771st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How common is rigmarole?

Rigmarole appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 102,771st 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 rigmarole?

  • UK /ˈɹɪɡməɹəʊl/
  • US /ˈɹɪɡməɹoʊl/

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rigmarole.ogg, En-au-rigmarole.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with rigmarole

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

rigamarole vs rigmarole590 G

Also written: rigamarole.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of rigmarole

  • rigmaroles plural
  • rigamarole

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does rigmarole mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A long and complicated formal procedure.

    Have you seen all the rigmarole you have to go through at airport security these days?

  2. 2

    datedConfused and incoherent talk; nonsense.

    If you are alluding to Dostoevski’s worst novels, then, indeed, I dislike intensely The Karamazov Brothers and the ghastly Crime and Punishment rigmarole.

adjective

  1. 1

    Characterized by rigmarole; prolix; tedious.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Rigmarole in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchimbroglio (long, tedious and complicated formal procedure), charabia (nonsense talk)
GermanTheater, Zirkus, Brimborium (long, tedious and complicated formal procedure), Geschwätz, Palaver (nonsense talk)
Portugueselengalenga (long, tedious and complicated formal procedure)
Spanishembrollo (long, tedious and complicated formal procedure)

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 rigmarole come from?

From ragman roll (“long list; catalogue”). Recorded since c1736.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after rigmarole