spineless
adjective
spineless is spelled S-P-I-N-E-L-E-S-S: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, spineless means “Having no spines, prickles, or thorns” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in spineless?
| Letters | 9: S-P-I-N-E-L-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd 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 spineless?
Spineless appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd 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 spineless?
Spineless 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-spineless.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of spineless
- more spineless comparative
- most spineless superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spineless mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having no spines, prickles, or thorns.
- 2
Having no spinal column.
- 3
Cowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spineless in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | rückgratlos, stachellos , willenlos |
| French | lâche |
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 spineless come from?
From spine + -less.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).