upstanding
/ʌpˈstændɪŋ/adjective, verb
upstanding is spelled U-P-S-T-A-N-D-I-N-G: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,416th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, upstanding means “Honest; reputable; respectable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in upstanding?
| Letters | 10: U-P-S-T-A-N-D-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 38,416th 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 upstanding?
Upstanding appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,416th 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 upstanding?
- /ʌpˈstændɪŋ/
Upstanding 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)-Persent101-upstanding.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of upstanding
- more upstanding comparative
- most upstanding superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does upstanding mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Honest; reputable; respectable.
An upstanding merchant will exchange a faulty product.
- 2
Standing up.
Please be upstanding for His Worship the Mayor.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of upstand
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Upstanding in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense honest, reputable:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | ehrlich, aufrecht, respektiert |
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 upstanding come from?
From up- + standing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).