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singular

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

8 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "singular", 8-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "singular" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "singular" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

singular is anEnglishadj. It means: Being only one of a larger population; single, individual. Pronounced /ˈsɪŋ.ɡjə.lɚ/. Often confused with singularly.

Key facts for singular
PropertyValue
Headwordsingular
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdj
IPA/ˈsɪŋ.ɡjə.lɚ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#10,610
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of singular in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for singular is 8 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɪŋ.ɡjə.lɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,610 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 12 documented wrong-spelling variants for singular, with forms such as "isngular", "signular", and "singgular". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "singularly", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English singuler, from Old French, from Latin singulāris (“alone of its kind”), from Latin singulus (“single”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is singular, spelled S-I-N-G-U-L-A-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Being only one of a larger population; single, individual.
  2. 2
    Being the only one of the kind; unique.
  3. 3
    Distinguished by superiority: peerless, unmatched, eminent, exceptional, extraordinary.
  4. 4
    Out of the ordinary; curious.
  5. 5
    Referring to only one thing or person.
  6. 6
    Having no inverse.
  7. 7
    Having the property that the matrix of coefficients of the new variables has a determinant equal to zero.
  8. 8
    Not equal to its own cofinality.
  9. 9
    Each; individual.
  10. 10
    Engaged in by only one on a side; single.

Etymology

From Middle English singuler, from Old French, from Latin singulāris (“alone of its kind”), from Latin singulus (“single”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: isngular,signular,singgular,singluar,singualr,singularr,singullar,singulra,sinngular,sinuglar,snigular,ssingular

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for singular

Misspelling Variants of "singular"

isngular8signular8singgular9singluar8singualr8singularr9singullar9singulra8
Misspelling Variants of "singular"

Frequency rank: #10,610 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "singular"?
"singular" is spelled S-I-N-G-U-L-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪŋ.ɡjə.lɚ/.
What does "singular" mean?
As an adj, "singular" means: Being only one of a larger population; single, individual.
What words are commonly confused with "singular"?
"singular" is commonly confused with "singularly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "singular"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "singular" is /ˈsɪŋ.ɡjə.lɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "singular"?
From Middle English singuler, from Old French, from Latin singulāris (“alone of its kind”), from Latin singulus (“single”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.