scaredy pants
"scaredy-pants" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scaredy pants” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A notional pair of trousers or underwear worn by someone when acting cowardly.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | scaredy pants |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “scaredy pants” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for scaredy pants is 13 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for scaredy pants in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From scared + -y + -pants. The correct English form is scaredy pants, spelled S-C-A-R-E-D-Y- -P-A-N-T-S.
Definition
- 1A notional pair of trousers or underwear worn by someone when acting cowardly.
- 2Synonym of scaredy-cat.
Etymology
From scared + -y + -pants.
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 "scaredy pants"?
What does "scaredy pants" mean?
What is the origin of the word "scaredy pants"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “scaredy pants”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-A-R-E-D-Y- -P-A-N-T-S - 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.