spongy
/ˈspʌnd͡ʒi/adjective
spongy is spelled S-P-O-N-G-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, spongy means “Having the characteristics of a sponge, namely being absorbent, squishy or porous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in spongy?
| Letters | 6: S-P-O-N-G-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,947th 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 spongy?
Spongy appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th 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 spongy?
- /ˈspʌnd͡ʒi/
Spongy 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: En-au-spongy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of spongy
- spongier comparative
- spongiest superlative
- spongey
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spongy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having the characteristics of a sponge, namely being absorbent, squishy or porous.
spongy earth; spongy cake; spongy bones
- 2
Wet; drenched; soaked and soft, like sponge; rainy.
- 3
slangDrunk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spongy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense absorbent, squishy, porous:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | spongieux |
| German | schwammartig, schwammig |
| Spanish | fofo, esponjoso, esponjado |
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 spongy come from?
From spong(e) + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).