smiling
/ˈsmaɪlɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
smiling is spelled S-M-I-L-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, smiling means “That smiles or has a smile” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in smiling?
| Letters | 7: S-M-I-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,595th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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 smiling?
Smiling appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th 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 smiling?
- /ˈsmaɪlɪŋ/
Smiling 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: En-us-smiling.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with smiling?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as smiling.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: sliming.
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 smiling
- more smiling comparative
- most smiling superlative
- smilings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does smiling mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
That smiles or has a smile.
smiling children
noun
- 1
The action of the verb to smile.
Smiling takes fewer muscles than frowning.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of smile
They were smiling at the children.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Smiling in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense that smiles or has a smile:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | souriant |
| German | lächelnd |
| Portuguese | sorridente, risonho |
| Spanish | sonriente, carialegre |
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.