virility

/vəˈɹɪlɪti/

//vəˈɹɪlɪti// noun

"virility" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“virility” is uncommon English (frequency #57,162 among 969 “V” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,162
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being virile.

Corpus desk

Index EN-virility · virility · English

virility · rank #57,162 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,162
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH vilify

Nearest frequency peer: vilify (-1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “virility”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “virility” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for virility
PropertyValue
Headwordvirility
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/vəˈɹɪlɪti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#57,162
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “virility” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).virilityfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “vilify” (#57,161), “vespers” (#57,160), “Wahhabi” (#57,164). Among 969 “V” headwords, “virility” is #57,162. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

virility is uncommon English at frequency #57,162 among 969 “V” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /vəˈɹɪlɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

virility has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From virile + -ity, from Middle French virilité, from Latin virīlitās. The correct English form is virility, spelled V-I-R-I-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being virile.
  2. 2
    Manly character, quality, or nature.
  3. 3
    The ability of a man to procreate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how virility appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Woolen threads were an occult means, according to the Roman poet Horace, of depriving a person of virility.
  2. The Rabbis adjured her to endow the young man with his former virility, but she vehemently refused to do so.

Etymology

From virile + -ity, from Middle French virilité, from Latin virīlitās.

Synonyms

Antonyms

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); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "virility"?
"virility" is spelled V-I-R-I-L-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /vəˈɹɪlɪti/.
What does "virility" mean?
As a noun, "virility" means: The state of being virile.
How do you pronounce "virility"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "virility" is /vəˈɹɪlɪti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "virility"?
From virile + -ity, from Middle French virilité, from Latin virīlitās. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "virility", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list