slaty

/ˈsleɪti/

//ˈsleɪti// adj

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

"slaty" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“slaty” is uncommon English (frequency #90,996 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#90,996
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Resembling the rock slate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-slaty · slaty · English

slaty · rank #90,996 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #90,996
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH slinking

Nearest frequency peer: slinking (+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 “slaty”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for slaty
PropertyValue
Headwordslaty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsleɪti/
Letters5
Frequency rank#90,996
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “slaty” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).slatyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “slinking” (#90,997), “skipjack” (#90,994), “signboard” (#90,992). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “slaty” is #90,996. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

slaty is uncommon English at frequency #90,996 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈsleɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for slaty, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From slate + -y. The correct English form is slaty, spelled S-L-A-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Resembling the rock slate.
  2. 2
    Of a light grey colour as slate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Their faces and hands were yellow as saffron; their small and slaty eyes were set obliquely beneath lashless lids; and their thin lips, which smiled eternally, were crooked. as the blades of scimitars.
  2. But snow had now begun to fall out of a forbiddingly slaty-grey sky, and this seemed to depress both engine and crew.

Etymology

From slate + -y.

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 "slaty"?
"slaty" is spelled S-L-A-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsleɪti/.
What does "slaty" mean?
As an adjective, "slaty" means: Resembling the rock slate.
How do you pronounce "slaty"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slaty" is /ˈsleɪti/. 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 "slaty"?
From slate + -y. 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 "slaty", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shish#90,986squee#91,013shama#90,975stoat#91,023

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list