verklempt
/fəˈklɛm(p)t/
"verklempt" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“verklempt” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Overcome with emotion, choked up.
Corpus desk
Index EN-verklempt · verklempt · English
verklempt · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-2 2 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 | verklempt |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /fəˈklɛm(p)t/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “verklempt” in English
Rare enough to double-check
verklempt is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /fəˈklɛm(p)t/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
verklempt doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Yiddish פֿאַרקלעמט (farklemt, “depressed, distraught; choked up”). The English spelling was influenced by the German prefix ver- corresponding to Yiddish פֿאַר־ (far-). German verklemmt (“uptight”, literally “jammed”) is formally cognate, but … The correct English form is verklempt, spelled V-E-R-K-L-E-M-P-T.
Definition
- 1Overcome with emotion, choked up.
- 2Flustered, nervous, overwhelmed.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how verklempt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Ferklempt Without You—Very pretty, sexy, fun, active, Jewish, 35, ad exec seeks handsome, funny guy for love and happiness. It'll be like buttah!
I've grown very tired of everyone saying freedom isn't free. The reason is, well, it's because I don't know where it came from and quite frankly, I think that some guy named Sal could be responsible, like maybe he started the whole thing after one too many beers at a picnic a few years back and all of a sudden it's become our unofficial national freedom s…
Etymology
Borrowed from Yiddish פֿאַרקלעמט (farklemt, “depressed, distraught; choked up”). The English spelling was influenced by the German prefix ver- corresponding to Yiddish פֿאַר־ (far-). German verklemmt (“uptight”, literally “jammed”) is formally cognate, but semantically unrelated; a closer match is beklommen (“anxious, despondent”). Popularized by a 1990s sketch comedy series.
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.