staggering
/ˈstæɡəɹɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
staggering is spelled S-T-A-G-G-E-R-I-N-G: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, staggering means “Incredible, overwhelming, amazing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in staggering?
| Letters | 10: S-T-A-G-G-E-R-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th 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 staggering?
Staggering appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th 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 staggering?
- /ˈstæɡəɹɪŋ/
Staggering has 3 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-us-staggering.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of staggering
- more staggering comparative
- most staggering superlative
- staggerings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does staggering mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Incredible, overwhelming, amazing.
The army suffered a staggering defeat.
- 2
Lurching, floundering.
noun
- 1
The motion of one who staggers.
- 2
The condition of being staggered or amazed.
- 3
The spacing out of various actions over time.
- 4
In animation, the repetition of a sequence of frames to show struggling effort
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of stagger
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Staggering in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | impressionante, incrível, espantoso |
| Spanish | asombroso, pasmoso, impactante, abrumador |
| German | taumelnd, wankend, torkelnd |
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.