sulk
/sʌlk/
"sulk" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sulk” is uncommon English (frequency #50,254 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #50,254
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To express ill humor or offence by remaining sullenly silent or withdrawn.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sulk |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /sʌlk/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #50,254 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sulk” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
sulk is uncommon English at frequency #50,254 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /sʌlk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To express ill humor or offence by remaining sullenly silent or withdrawn.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for sulk, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from sulky, of uncertain origin. Probably from Middle English *sulke, *solke (attested in solcenesse (“idleness; laziness”), from Old English āsolcennys (“idleness; slothfulness; sluggishness; laziness”), from āsolcen (“sulky, languid”), from… The correct English form is sulk, spelled S-U-L-K.
Definition
- 1To express ill humor or offence by remaining sullenly silent or withdrawn.
Etymology
Back-formation from sulky, of uncertain origin. Probably from Middle English *sulke, *solke (attested in solcenesse (“idleness; laziness”), from Old English āsolcennys (“idleness; slothfulness; sluggishness; laziness”), from āsolcen (“sulky, languid”), from past participle of Old English āseolcan (“be slow; be weak or slothful; languish”), from Proto-Germanic *selkaną (“to fall in drops; dribble; droop”), from Proto-Indo-European *sélǵ-o-nom, from *selǵ- (“to let go, send”). Cognate with several Indo-Iranian words deriving from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sarȷ́- (such as Sanskrit सृजति (sṛjáti), सर्जन (sárjana), सृक (sṛká)), possibly Hittite 𒊭𒀠𒀝𒍣 (ša-al-ak-zi /šalkzi/, “knead, mix”), although the semantic connection is weak.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
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
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Using “sulk”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-L-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /sʌlk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.