rutilant

/ˈɹuːtɪl(ə)nt/

//ˈɹuːtɪl(ə)nt// adj

"rutilant" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rutilant” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Shining or glowing with a red colour or light.

Key facts for rutilant
PropertyValue
Headwordrutilant
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɹuːtɪl(ə)nt/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rutilant” sits in English frequency

rutilant 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

rutilant is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈɹuːtɪl(ə)nt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Shining or glowing with a red colour or light.".

rutilant doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English rutilaunt (“shining with a gold or red colour”), from rutilāns (“reddening”), an adjective use of the present participle of rutilō (“to redden”) (from rutilus (“(yellowish) red”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”)). The Eng… The correct English form is rutilant, spelled R-U-T-I-L-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Shining or glowing with a red colour or light.

Etymology

From Late Middle English rutilaunt (“shining with a gold or red colour”), from rutilāns (“reddening”), an adjective use of the present participle of rutilō (“to redden”) (from rutilus (“(yellowish) red”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”)). The English word is cognate with Italian rutilante, Portuguese rutilante, Spanish rutilante.

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 "rutilant"?
"rutilant" is spelled R-U-T-I-L-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹuːtɪl(ə)nt/.
What does "rutilant" mean?
As an adjective, "rutilant" means: Shining or glowing with a red colour or light.
How do you pronounce "rutilant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rutilant" is /ˈɹuːtɪl(ə)nt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "rutilant"?
From Late Middle English rutilaunt (“shining with a gold or red colour”), from rutilāns (“reddening”), an adjective use of the present participle of rutilō (“to redden”) (from rutilus (“(yellowish) red”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”)... 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 “rutilant”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is R-U-T-I-L-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈɹuːtɪl(ə)nt/ (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list