sooth

/suːθ/

//suːθ// noun

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

"sooth" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sooth” is uncommon English (frequency #61,823 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,823
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Truth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sooth · sooth · English

sooth · rank #61,823 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,823
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH speeded

Nearest frequency peer: speeded (+2 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 “sooth”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sooth
PropertyValue
Headwordsooth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/suːθ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#61,823
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sooth” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).soothfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “speeded” (#61,825), “smidge” (#61,820), “spellbinding” (#61,826). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sooth” is #61,823. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sooth is uncommon English at frequency #61,823 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /suːθ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

sooth doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sooth, from Old English sōþ (“truth; true, actual, real”), from Proto-West Germanic *sanþ, from Proto-Germanic *sanþaz (“truth; true”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁sónts, *h₁s-ont- (“being, existence, real, true”), from Proto-Indo-Europe… The correct English form is sooth, spelled S-O-O-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Truth.
  2. 2
    Augury; prognostication.
  3. 3
    Blandishment; cajolery.
  4. 4
    Reality; fact.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In sooth, I know not why I am so sad.
  2. […] "O Eginhard, disclose The meaning and the mystery of the rose"; And trembling he made answer: "In good sooth, Its mystery is love, its meaning youth!"

Etymology

From Middle English sooth, from Old English sōþ (“truth; true, actual, real”), from Proto-West Germanic *sanþ, from Proto-Germanic *sanþaz (“truth; true”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁sónts, *h₁s-ont- (“being, existence, real, true”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”). Akin to Old Saxon sōþ (“true”), Old High German sand (“true”), Old Norse sannr (“true”), Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌾𐌰 (sunja, “truth”), Old English synn (“sin, guilt"; literally, "being the one guilty”). More at sin. See also soothe, derived from the same Old English word.

This word in other languages

verdad(Español)Wahrheit(Deutsch)verdade(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 "sooth"?
"sooth" is spelled S-O-O-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /suːθ/.
What does "sooth" mean?
As a noun, "sooth" means: Truth.
How do you pronounce "sooth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sooth" is /suːθ/. 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 "sooth"?
From Middle English sooth, from Old English sōþ (“truth; true, actual, real”), from Proto-West Germanic *sanþ, from Proto-Germanic *sanþaz (“truth; true”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁sónts, *h₁s-ont- (“being, existence, real, true”), from Proto-I... 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 "sooth", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Silla#61,816sigil#61,814Sidhu#61,813shuck#61,812

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list