rocambolesque

adj

"rocambolesque" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rocambolesque” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. 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) - Fantastic, incredible, fabulous.

Key facts for rocambolesque
PropertyValue
Headwordrocambolesque
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rocambolesque” sits in English frequency

rocambolesque falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rocambolesque is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Fantastic, incredible, fabulous.".

rocambolesque has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. 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: Borrowed from French rocambolesque, in reference to Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail's character Rocambole. The correct English form is rocambolesque, spelled R-O-C-A-M-B-O-L-E-S-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Fantastic, incredible, fabulous.

Etymology

Borrowed from French rocambolesque, in reference to Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail's character Rocambole.

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

How do you spell "rocambolesque"?
"rocambolesque" is spelled R-O-C-A-M-B-O-L-E-S-Q-U-E.
What does "rocambolesque" mean?
As an adjective, "rocambolesque" means: Fantastic, incredible, fabulous.
What is the origin of the word "rocambolesque"?
Borrowed from French rocambolesque, in reference to Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail's character Rocambole. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “rocambolesque”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is R-O-C-A-M-B-O-L-E-S-Q-U-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list