shambolic
sham·bol·ic/(ˌ)ʃæmˈbɑlɪk/adjective
shambolic is spelled S-H-A-M-B-O-L-I-C: 9 letters and 3 syllables (sham·bol·ic). It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, shambolic means “Chaotic, disorganised or mismanaged” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in shambolic?
| Letters | 9: S-H-A-M-B-O-L-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: sham·bol·ic |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is shambolic?
Shambolic appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th 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 shambolic?
- UK /ʃamˈbɒlɪk/
- US /(ˌ)ʃæmˈbɑlɪk/
- Australia /ʃæmˈbɔlɪk/
Shambolic has 3 syllables, split sham·bol·ic in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-shambolic.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with shambolic?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as shambolic from its last stressed vowel (/ɑlɪk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of shambolic
- more shambolic comparative
- most shambolic superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shambolic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
CommonwealthIrelandUKChaotic, disorganised or mismanaged.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shambolic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense chaotic:
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 shambolic come from?
Possibly from shambles + -o- + -ic (adjective), in which the interconsonantal -o- avoids the /mbl/ consonant cluster. Possibly influenced by symbolic. Alternatively, possibly a blend of shambles + symbolic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).