sedulous
/ˈsɛd͡ʒʊləs/
"sedulous" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sedulous” 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 September 3, 2026) - Of a person: diligent in application or pursuit; constant and persevering in business or in endeavours to effect a goal; steadily industrious.
Corpus desk
Index EN-sedulous · sedulous · English
sedulous · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sedulous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈsɛd͡ʒʊləs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “sedulous” in English
Rare enough to double-check
sedulous is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈsɛd͡ʒʊləs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
sedulous doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin sēdulus (“diligent, industrious, sedulous; solicitous; unremitting; zealous”) + English -ous. Sēdulus is probably derived from sēdulō (“diligently; carefully; purposely; zealously”) (possibly from sē- (prefix meaning ‘without’) + dolō (ablative s… The correct English form is sedulous, spelled S-E-D-U-L-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Of a person: diligent in application or pursuit; constant and persevering in business or in endeavours to effect a goal; steadily industrious.
- 2Of an activity: carried out with diligence.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how sedulous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Since firſt this Subject for Heroic Song / Pleaſ'd me long chooſing, and beginning late; / Not ſedulous by Nature to indite / Warrs, hitherto the onely Argument / Heroic deem'd, [...]
His [Edward III of England's] parliament made frequent remonſtrances againſt this baſe oblivion of himſelf: the parliaments, at this time, were not as formerly, factions ready to oppreſs public liberty, but aſſemblies of wiſe and good men, ſedulous for common welfare, and of wiſdom equal to the rectitude of their intentions; [...]
Etymology
From Latin sēdulus (“diligent, industrious, sedulous; solicitous; unremitting; zealous”) + English -ous. Sēdulus is probably derived from sēdulō (“diligently; carefully; purposely; zealously”) (possibly from sē- (prefix meaning ‘without’) + dolō (ablative singular of dolus (“deceit, deception; evil intent, malice”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *del- (“to count, reckon”))) + -us (suffix forming adjectives).
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.