sunlit

/ˈsʌnlɪt/

//ˈsʌnlɪt// adj

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

"sunlit" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sunlit” is uncommon English (frequency #57,109 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,109
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Illuminated by sunlight.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sunlit · sunlit · English

sunlit · rank #57,109 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,109
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sultanate

Nearest frequency peer: sultanate (-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 “sunlit”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sunlit
PropertyValue
Headwordsunlit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsʌnlɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#57,109
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sunlit” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).sunlitfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “sultanate” (#57,108), “superbike” (#57,110), “suppressive” (#57,112). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sunlit” is #57,109. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sunlit is uncommon English at frequency #57,109 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈsʌnlɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Illuminated by sunlight.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for sunlit, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sun + lit. The correct English form is sunlit, spelled S-U-N-L-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Illuminated by sunlight.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. "My tastes," he said, still smiling, "incline me to the garishly sunlit side of this planet." And, to tease her and arouse her to combat: "I prefer a farandole to a nocturne; I'd rather have a painting than an etching; Mr. [James Abbott McNeill] Whistler bores me with his monochromatic mud; I don't like dull colours, dull sounds, dull intellects;[…]."

Etymology

From sun + lit.

Synonyms

sunlighted

This word in other languages

soleado(Español)

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 "sunlit"?
"sunlit" is spelled S-U-N-L-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsʌnlɪt/.
What does "sunlit" mean?
As an adjective, "sunlit" means: Illuminated by sunlight.
How do you pronounce "sunlit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sunlit" is /ˈsʌnlɪt/. 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 "sunlit"?
From sun + lit. 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 "sunlit", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tawdry#57,119specie#57,087sodden#57,084Tupper#57,140

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list