surly
/ˈsɝli/adjective
surly is spelled S-U-R-L-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, surly means “Irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in surly?
| Letters | 5: S-U-R-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,912th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is surly?
Surly appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th 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 surly?
- UK /ˈsɜːli/
- US /ˈsɝli/
Surly 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-us-surly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with surly?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as surly from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹli/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of surly
- surlier comparative
- surliest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does surly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly.
- 2
Threatening, menacing, gloomy.
The surly weather put us all in a bad mood.
- 3
obsoleteLordly, arrogant, supercilious.
adverb
- 1
obsoleteIn an arrogant or supercilious manner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Surly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | grognon, grincheux, impoli , menaçant, rude, morne |
| German | mürrisch, unwirsch, missmutig, verdrießlich, griesgrämig, grämlich |
| Portuguese | rabugento |
| Spanish | arisco, brígido, escolimoso, hosco, fosco |
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 surly come from?
16th-century alteration of sirly, from sir + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).