smouldering
adjective, noun, verb
smouldering is spelled S-M-O-U-L-D-E-R-I-N-G: 11 letters. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,808th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, smouldering means “Burning slowly, producing smoke but no flame” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in smouldering?
| Letters | 11: S-M-O-U-L-D-E-R-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 54,808th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is smouldering?
Smouldering appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,808th 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).
Forms of smouldering
- smoldering
- smoulderings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does smouldering mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
UKBurning slowly, producing smoke but no flame.
noun
- 1
The act by which something smoulders; residual heat.
the smoulderings of the Thirty Years War
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of smoulder
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does smouldering come from?
From smoulder + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).