several
sev·er·al/ˈsɛv.(ə.)ɹəl/adjective, determiner, adverb, noun
several is spelled S-E-V-E-R-A-L, 3 syllables: sev·er·al. The wrong spelling people search most is serveral: about 50 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 34 of all searches for the word. Several is an adjective meaning “A number of different; various”.
How many letters and syllables are in several?
| Letters | 7: S-E-V-E-R-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: sev·er·al |
| In writing | 245 times per million words; the 402nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 3; the most searched, serveral, about 50 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell several?
Several is spelled S-E-V-E-R-A-L. 3 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 17 of the searches for several in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is several?
Several appears 245 times per million words in written English, the 402nd 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 several?
- US /ˈsɛv.(ə.)ɹəl/
- Australia /ˈsev.(ə.)ɹəl/
Several has 3 syllables, split sev·er·al in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-several.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of several
- more several comparative
- most several superlative
- severall
- severals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does several mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
obsoleteSeparate, distinct; particular.
- 2
A number of different; various.
- 3
Separable, capable of being treated separately.
determiner
- 1
Consisting of a number more than one (especially, more than two) but not very many.
The firm turns over several million a month.
adverb
- 1
By itself; severally.
noun
- 1
obsoleteAn area of land in private ownership (as opposed to common land).
- 2
Each particular taken singly; an item; a detail; an individual.
- 3
archaicAn enclosed or separate place; enclosure.
- 4
archaicA woman's loose outer garment, capable of being worn as a shawl, or in other forms.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Several in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | plusieurs |
| German | mehrere, einige |
| Portuguese | muitos, vários, diversos, alguns , diverso, distinto |
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 several come from?
From Anglo-Norman several, from Medieval Latin sēparālis, from Latin sēpar (“separate”). By surface analysis, sever + -al. Not related to severe or seven.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).