upheaval
up·heav·al/ʌpˈhiːvəl/noun
upheaval is spelled U-P-H-E-A-V-A-L: 8 letters and 3 syllables (up·heav·al). It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, upheaval means “The process of being heaved upward, especially the raising of part of the earth's crust” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of upheaval is upheavals.
How many letters and syllables are in upheaval?
| Letters | 8: U-P-H-E-A-V-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: up·heav·al |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is upheaval?
Upheaval appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd 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 upheaval?
- /ʌpˈhiːvəl/
- [ʌpˈhɪi̯vəl] ~ [ʌpˈhɪi̯vl̩]
Upheaval has 3 syllables, split up·heav·al in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-upheaval.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of upheaval
- upheavals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does upheaval mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The process of being heaved upward, especially the raising of part of the earth's crust.
- 2
A disruptive change, from one state to another.
- 3
A sudden violent upset, disruption or convulsion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Upheaval in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | soulèvement, surrection , bouleversement |
| German | Erhebung, Aufwölbung , Umbruch, Aufruhr |
| Spanish | surgimiento , convulsión |
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 upheaval come from?
From upheave + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).