shyster
/ˈʃaɪs.tɚ/noun, verb
shyster is spelled S-H-Y-S-T-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 111,684th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shyster means “Someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shyster is shysters.
How many letters and syllables are in shyster?
| Letters | 7: S-H-Y-S-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 111,684th 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 and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 shyster?
Shyster appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 111,684th 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 shyster?
- UK /ˈʃaɪs.tə(ɹ)/
- US /ˈʃaɪs.tɚ/
Shyster has 2 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-shyster.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with shyster?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as shyster from its last stressed vowel (/aɪstəɹ/):
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 shyster
- shysters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- schister
- scheister
- sheister
- schyster
- shister
- shaista
- shiester
- schiester
- shystering participle, present
- shystered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shyster mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics.
verb
- 1
To act in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics.
- 2
To exploit (someone or something) in this way.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shyster in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | avocaillon, chicaneur |
| German | Gauner, Rechtsverdreher, Winkeladvokat |
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 shyster come from?
US origin, 19th century. The etymology of the word is not generally agreed upon. The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as "of obscure origin," possibly deriving from a historical sense of shy meaning "disreputable", equivalent to shy + -ster. Other sources suggest the word derives from shicer, from the German Scheißer (“incompetent worthless person”), from scheißen (“to defecate”), probably influenced by -ster. Not related to shylock.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).