smoulder
/ˈsməʊldə(ɹ)/
"smoulder" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“smoulder” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative form of smolder.
Corpus desk
Index EN-smoulder · smoulder · English
smoulder · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | smoulder |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈsməʊldə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “smoulder” in English
Rare enough to double-check
smoulder is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈsməʊldə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
smoulder doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is smoulder, spelled S-M-O-U-L-D-E-R.
Definition
- 1Alternative form of smolder.
- 2To smother; to suffocate; to choke.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how smoulder appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Lightning may blast and blacken, but it rarely gives rise to widespread fire. Decaying vegetation may occasionally smoulder with the heat of its fermentation, but this again rarely results in flames.
They preassed forward vnder their ensignes, bearing downe such as stoode in their way, and with their owne fire smouldered and burnt them to ashes
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.