velleity
/vɛˈliː.ɪ.ti/
"velleity" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“velleity” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The lowest degree of desire or volition; a total lack of effort to act.
Corpus desk
Index EN-velleity · velleity · English
velleity · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "V" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | velleity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /vɛˈliː.ɪ.ti/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “velleity” in English
Rare enough to double-check
velleity is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /vɛˈliː.ɪ.ti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for velleity in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Medieval Latin velleitās, from Latin velle (“wish, will”). The correct English form is velleity, spelled V-E-L-L-E-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1The lowest degree of desire or volition; a total lack of effort to act.
- 2A slight wish not followed by any effort to obtain.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how velleity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Rousseau showed through life a singular proneness for being convinced by his own eloquence; he was always his own first convert; and this reconciles his power as a writer with his weakness as a man. He and all like him mistake emotion for conviction, velleity for resolve, the brief eddy of sentiment for the midcurrent of ever-gathering faith in duty that…
This connoisseuse of “splendid weaknesses”, run not by any lust or even velleity but by vacuum: by the absence of human hope.
Etymology
From Medieval Latin velleitās, from Latin velle (“wish, will”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.