temerity

/tɪˈmɛɹ.ɪ.ti/

//tɪˈmɛɹ.ɪ.ti// noun

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

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

The verdict

“temerity” is uncommon English (frequency #58,408 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,408
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Reckless boldness; foolish bravery.

Corpus desk

Index EN-temerity · temerity · English

temerity · rank #58,408 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,408
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Teigen

Nearest frequency peer: Teigen (-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 “temerity”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for temerity
PropertyValue
Headwordtemerity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɪˈmɛɹ.ɪ.ti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#58,408
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “temerity” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).temerityfalls 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: “Teigen” (#58,407), “tempera” (#58,409), “technocratic” (#58,406). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “temerity” is #58,408. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

temerity is uncommon English at frequency #58,408 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɪˈmɛɹ.ɪ.ti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for temerity in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English temerite, temeryte, from Old French temerité, from Latin temeritās (“chance, accident, rashness”), from temere (“by chance, casually, rashly”). By surface analysis, temer(arious) + -ity. The correct English form is temerity, spelled T-E-M-E-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Reckless boldness; foolish bravery.
  2. 2
    An act or case of reckless boldness.
  3. 3
    Effrontery; impudence.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 1569, Thomas Pearson, trans., "The Second Paradox," in The booke of Marcus Tullius Cicero entituled Paradoxa Stoicorum, T. Marshe (London), Neyther the spightfull temerity and rashnes of variable fortune, nor the envious hart burning and in iurious hatred of mine enemies shold be able once to damnify me.
  2. Jewan Sadit, who ſtood before the prince, obſerving his youthful temerity, threw himſelf between him and danger, and with a nervous arm, wielding a ſharp ſabre, of the hard tempered ſteel of Damiſk, ruſhing upon the tyger, he ſtruck him acroſs the forehead.

Etymology

From Middle English temerite, temeryte, from Old French temerité, from Latin temeritās (“chance, accident, rashness”), from temere (“by chance, casually, rashly”). By surface analysis, temer(arious) + -ity.

This word in other languages

temeridad(Español)témérité(Français)Kühnheit(Deutsch)temeridade(Português)

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 "temerity"?
"temerity" is spelled T-E-M-E-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /tɪˈmɛɹ.ɪ.ti/.
What does "temerity" mean?
As a noun, "temerity" means: Reckless boldness; foolish bravery.
How do you pronounce "temerity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "temerity" is /tɪˈmɛɹ.ɪ.ti/. 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 "temerity"?
From Middle English temerite, temeryte, from Old French temerité, from Latin temeritās (“chance, accident, rashness”), from temere (“by chance, casually, rashly”). By surface analysis, temer(arious) + -ity. 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 "temerity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

torching#58,417Trappist#58,421suffices#58,392trudging#58,426

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list