soliloquy

/səˈlɪləkwi/

//səˈlɪləkwi// noun

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

"soliloquy" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“soliloquy” is uncommon English (frequency #56,453 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,453
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of a character speaking to themselves so as to reveal their thoughts to the audience.

Corpus desk

Index EN-soliloquy · soliloquy · English

soliloquy · rank #56,453 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #56,453
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Solent

Nearest frequency peer: Solent (-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 “soliloquy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for soliloquy
PropertyValue
Headwordsoliloquy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/səˈlɪləkwi/
Letters9
Frequency rank#56,453
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “soliloquy” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).soliloquyfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Solent” (#56,452), “someway” (#56,454), “somthing” (#56,455). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “soliloquy” is #56,453. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

soliloquy is uncommon English at frequency #56,453 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /səˈlɪləkwi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for soliloquy in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1595–1605; From Late Latin sōliloquium in the title of St. Augustine's Soliloquiorum libri duo ("Two Books of Soliloquies"), from sōlus (“only, sole”) + loquor (“to speak”). The correct English form is soliloquy, spelled S-O-L-I-L-O-Q-U-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of a character speaking to themselves so as to reveal their thoughts to the audience.
  2. 2
    A speech or written discourse in this form.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. At the end of the second act the main villain gave a soliloquy detailing his plans to attack the protagonist.
  2. Yet if I were to say […] that Hamlet's soliloquy had been much over-rated, it would not be said, on this account, that I was unable to appreciate Shakespeare.

Etymology

1595–1605; From Late Latin sōliloquium in the title of St. Augustine's Soliloquiorum libri duo ("Two Books of Soliloquies"), from sōlus (“only, sole”) + loquor (“to speak”).

This word in other languages

soliloquio(Español)soliloque(Français)Selbstgespräch(Deutsch)solilóquio(Português)

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 "soliloquy"?
"soliloquy" is spelled S-O-L-I-L-O-Q-U-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /səˈlɪləkwi/.
What does "soliloquy" mean?
As a noun, "soliloquy" means: The act of a character speaking to themselves so as to reveal their thoughts to the audience.
How do you pronounce "soliloquy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "soliloquy" is /səˈlɪləkwi/. 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 "soliloquy"?
1595–1605; From Late Latin sōliloquium in the title of St. Augustine's Soliloquiorum libri duo ("Two Books of Soliloquies"), from sōlus (“only, sole”) + loquor (“to speak”). 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 "soliloquy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sonically#56,456Silverton#56,439shamanism#56,429therefrom#56,485

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list