vaporous
va·por·ous/ˈveɪpəɹəs/adjective
vaporous is spelled V-A-P-O-R-O-U-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables (va·por·ous). It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, vaporous means “Of or relating to vapour; also, having the characteristics or consistency of vapour” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in vaporous?
| Letters | 8: V-A-P-O-R-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: va·por·ous |
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 118,441st 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 vaporous?
Vaporous appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st 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 vaporous?
- UK /ˈveɪpəɹəs/
- UK /ˈveɪpɹəs/
- US /ˈveɪpəɹəs/
Vaporous has 3 syllables, split va·por·ous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-vaporous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of vaporous
- more vaporous comparative
- most vaporous superlative
- vapourous
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vaporous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to vapour; also, having the characteristics or consistency of vapour.
- 2
Breathing out or giving off vapour.
- 3
Of a place: filled with vapour; foggy, misty.
- 4
Of a thing: covered or hidden by vapour, fog, or mist.
- 5
Lacking depth or substance; insubstantial, thoughtless, vague.
- 6
Of clothes or fabric: thin and translucent; filmy, gauzy.
- 7
Feeling melancholy; experiencing the vapors.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vaporous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of or relating to vapour; having the characteristics or consistency of vapour:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vaporeux |
| German | dampfförmig, dampvormig, dunstig |
| Portuguese | vaporoso |
| Spanish | vaporoso |
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 vaporous come from?
From Middle English vaporous, from Late Latin vapōrōsus (“full of steam”), from Latin vapor (“exhalation; smoke; steam, vapour”) (possibly related to Proto-Indo-European *kwep- (“to boil; to smoke, steam; aroma; strong odour”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, overly, prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). The English word is analysable as vapour + -ous. Possibly a doublet of hope.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).