sunburnt

/ˈsʌn.bɝnt/

//ˈsʌn.bɝnt// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sunburnt" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sunburnt” is uncommon English (frequency #62,543 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,543
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a sunburn or dark tan; having been burned by the sun's rays.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sunburnt · sunburnt · English

sunburnt · rank #62,543 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,543
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sulphuric

Nearest frequency peer: sulphuric (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “sunburnt”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “sunburnt” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sunburnt
PropertyValue
Headwordsunburnt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsʌn.bɝnt/
Letters8
Frequency rank#62,543
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sunburnt” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sunburntfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “sulphuric” (#62,542), “Sunda” (#62,544), “suckered” (#62,540). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sunburnt” is #62,543. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sunburnt is uncommon English at frequency #62,543 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈsʌn.bɝnt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

sunburnt doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sunne brente, equivalent to sun + burnt. The correct English form is sunburnt, spelled S-U-N-B-U-R-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a sunburn or dark tan; having been burned by the sun's rays.
  2. 2
    Dried out by the sun's rays.
  3. 3
    Subject to the strong heat and/or light of the sun.
  4. 4
    Resembling a sunburn in color.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sunburnt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. You sunburnt sicklemen, of August weary, / Come hither from the furrow and be merry:
  2. […] I must beg leave to say for my self, that I am as fair as most of my Sex and Country, and very little sun-burnt by my Travels.

Etymology

From Middle English sunne brente, equivalent to sun + burnt.

This word in other languages

sonnenverbrannt(Deutsch)

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

How do you spell "sunburnt"?
"sunburnt" is spelled S-U-N-B-U-R-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsʌn.bɝnt/.
What does "sunburnt" mean?
As an adjective, "sunburnt" means: Having a sunburn or dark tan; having been burned by the sun's rays.
How do you pronounce "sunburnt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sunburnt" is /ˈsʌn.bɝnt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sunburnt"?
From Middle English sunne brente, equivalent to sun + burnt. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sunburnt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

suckered#62,540tandoori#62,558thespian#62,569seagrass#62,492

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list