somnolent
/ˈsɒmnələnt/
"somnolent" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“somnolent” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Drowsy or sleepy.
Corpus desk
Index EN-somnolent · somnolent · English
somnolent · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 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 | somnolent |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈsɒmnələnt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “somnolent” in English
Rare enough to double-check
somnolent is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈsɒmnələnt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for somnolent, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1615. Borrowed from French somnolent, from Old French sompnolent, from Latin somnolentus, from somnus (“sleep”). The correct English form is somnolent, spelled S-O-M-N-O-L-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1Drowsy or sleepy.
- 2Causing literal or figurative sleepiness.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how somnolent appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
One minute she was gazing at a mockup of a space capsule, safely surrounded by old, somnolent men; […]
[…]; and in chronicling the passing parade of Harry's life, the books have also created a Kodachrome-sharp picture of American life - the psychic ups and downs, enthusiasms and reversals experienced by this nation as it moved from the somnolent 50's through the upheavals of the 60's and 70's into the uncertainties of the 80's.
Etymology
First attested in 1615. Borrowed from French somnolent, from Old French sompnolent, from Latin somnolentus, from somnus (“sleep”).
This word in other languages
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.