sooty
/ˈsʊti/adjective, verb
sooty is spelled S-O-O-T-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sooty means “Of, relating to, or producing soot” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sooty?
| Letters | 5: S-O-O-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,337th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sooty?
Sooty appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th 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).
How do you pronounce sooty?
- /ˈsʊti/
- /ˈsʌti/
Sooty has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sooty.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sooty
- sootier comparative
- sootiest superlative
- sooties present, singular, he/she/it
- sootying participle, present
- sootied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sooty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, relating to, or producing soot.
- 2
Soiled with soot
- 3
Of the color of soot.
- 4
obsoleteDark-skinned; black.
verb
- 1
To blacken or make dirty with soot.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sooty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fuligineux |
| Portuguese | fuliginoso |
| Spanish | fuliginoso , tiznado, hollinoso, holliniento |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sooty come from?
From Middle English sooty, soty, equivalent to soot + -y. Probably influenced by similar Middle English suti (“dirty, filthy”), derived from the same root as Old English besūtian (“to befoul”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).