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sedentary

/ˈsɛd.ən.tɛɹ.i/adjective, noun

sedentary is spelled S-E-D-E-N-T-A-R-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sedentary means “Not moving; relatively still; staying in the vicinity” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in sedentary?

Letters9: S-E-D-E-N-T-A-R-Y
Syllables4 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.4 times per million words; the 24,170th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is sedentary?

Sedentary appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th 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 sedentary?

  • US /ˈsɛd.ən.tɛɹ.i/
  • UK /ˈsɛd.ən.tə.ɹi/
  • UK /ˈsɛd.ən.tɹi/

Sedentary has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sedentary.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of sedentary

  • more sedentary comparative
  • most sedentary superlative
  • sedentaries plural

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

What does sedentary mean?

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

adjective

  1. 1

    Not moving; relatively still; staying in the vicinity.

    The oyster is a sedentary mollusk; the barnacles are sedentary crustaceans.

  2. 2

    Of a human population, living in a fixed geographical location.

    .

  3. 3

    Of a job, lifestyle, etc., not moving much; sitting around; inactive.

  4. 4

    obsoleteInactive; motionless; sluggish; tranquil.

  5. 5

    obsoleteCaused by long sitting.

noun

  1. 1

    A sedentary person.

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

Sedentary in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsédentaire (not moving, not migratory)
Germanortsgebunden, sesshaft (not moving, not migratory), sitzend (not moving much; sitting around)
Portuguesesedentário (not moving, not migratory)
Spanishsedentario (not moving, not migratory)

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 sedentary come from?

From Middle French sédentaire, from Latin sedentārius (“sitting”), from sedeō (“to sit, to be seated”).

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

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