slanderous

/ˈslændəɹəs/

//ˈslændəɹəs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"slanderous" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“slanderous” is uncommon English (frequency #54,488 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,488
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Both untrue and harmful to a reputation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-slanderous · slanderous · English

slanderous · rank #54,488 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,488
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sisko

Nearest frequency peer: Sisko (-1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “slanderous”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “slanderous” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for slanderous
PropertyValue
Headwordslanderous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈslændəɹəs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#54,488
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “slanderous” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).slanderousfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Sisko” (#54,487), “Slavonic” (#54,489), “shriveled” (#54,485). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “slanderous” is #54,488. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

slanderous is uncommon English at frequency #54,488 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈslændəɹəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Both untrue and harmful to a reputation.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for slanderous in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From slander + -ous. The correct English form is slanderous, spelled S-L-A-N-D-E-R-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Both untrue and harmful to a reputation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how slanderous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. “Your lack of basic journalistic ethics in both the manner in which you ‘reported’ this uncredited nonsense, and the slanderous, unnecessary use of my picture without permission demands a response, and I am, of course, pursuing legal action.”

Etymology

From slander + -ous.

Synonyms

defamatorylibelous

This word in other languages

difamador(Español)diffamatoire(Français)verleumderisch(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "slanderous"?
"slanderous" is spelled S-L-A-N-D-E-R-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈslændəɹəs/.
What does "slanderous" mean?
As an adjective, "slanderous" means: Both untrue and harmful to a reputation.
How do you pronounce "slanderous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slanderous" is /ˈslændəɹəs/. 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 "slanderous"?
From slander + -ous. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "slanderous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

somersault#54,498spiralling#54,502saccharine#54,453refraining#54,432

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list