tedium
/ˈtiː.di.əm/noun
tedium is spelled T-E-D-I-U-M: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,949th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tedium means “Boredom or tediousness; ennui” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tedium is tediums or tedia.
How many letters and syllables are in tedium?
| Letters | 6: T-E-D-I-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 49,949th 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 tedium?
Tedium appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,949th 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 tedium?
- UK /ˈtiː.di.əm/
Tedium 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-tedium.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tedium
- tediums plural
- tedia plural
- taedium
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tedium mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Boredom or tediousness; ennui.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tedium in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense boredom or tediousness; ennui:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ennui, fatigue |
| German | Langeweile |
| Portuguese | tédio, aborrecimento, fastio, enfado |
| Spanish | tedio |
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 tedium come from?
From Latin taedium, from taedēre (“to weary”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).