scabrous
sca·brous/ˈskæbɹəs/adjective
scabrous is spelled S-C-A-B-R-O-U-S: 8 letters and 2 syllables (sca·brous). It appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 105,204th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, scabrous means “Covered with scales or scabs; hence, very coarse or rough” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in scabrous?
| Letters | 8: S-C-A-B-R-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: sca·brous |
| In writing | about once in every 12 million words; the 105,204th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in 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).
How common is scabrous?
Scabrous appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 105,204th 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 scabrous?
- UK /ˈskeɪbɹəs/
- UK /ˈska-/
- US /ˈskæbɹəs/
Scabrous has 2 syllables, split sca·brous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-scabrous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of scabrous
- more scabrous comparative
- most scabrous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scabrous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Covered with scales or scabs; hence, very coarse or rough.
After the incident with the gasoline, Noel’s burnt arm remained scabrous and was susceptible to infections.
- 2
Disgusting, repellent.
The novel was a flagrantly scabrous bodice-ripper, and Rachael was ashamed to read it in public.
- 3
Salacious, scandalous; concerning oneself with lurid or lascivious substance.
- 4
Of music, writing, etc.: lacking refinement; unmelodious, unmusical.
- 5
Difficult, thorny, troublesome, requiring tact.
- 6
USCovered with a crust of dirt or grime.
- 7
Having scabers.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scabrous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 scabrous come from?
Borrowed from Latin scaber (“scabrous, rough; scabby, mangy, itchy”) (from scabō (“to scratch, scrape, abrade”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to scratch”)) + English -ous; compare French scabreux, Late Latin scabrōsus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).