vitreous

/ˈvɪtriəs/

//ˈvɪtriəs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“vitreous” is uncommon English (frequency #55,183 among 969 “V” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,183
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or resembling glass; glassy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vitreous · vitreous · English

vitreous · rank #55,183 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,183
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH visitations

Nearest frequency peer: visitations (-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 “vitreous”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for vitreous
PropertyValue
Headwordvitreous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈvɪtriəs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#55,183
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “vitreous” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).vitreousfalls 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: “visitations” (#55,182), “virginal” (#55,181), “vortices” (#55,185). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vitreous” is #55,183. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

vitreous is uncommon English at frequency #55,183 among 969 “V” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈvɪtriəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for vitreous in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French vitreux, from Latin vitreus (“glassy, transparent”), from vitrum (“glass”). The terms vitreous (positive) and resinous (negative) electricity were coined in 1733 by Charles François de Cisternay du Fay, who studied the different behaviour… The correct English form is vitreous, spelled V-I-T-R-E-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or resembling glass; glassy.
  2. 2
    Of or relating to the vitreous humor of the eye.
  3. 3
    Having a shiny nonporous surface.
  4. 4
    Of a semi-crystalline substance where the atoms exhibit short-range order, but without the long-range order of a crystal.
  5. 5
    With a glass-like texture, often referring to volcanic rocks that cooled too quickly for crystals to form.
  6. 6
    Positive (of electric charge).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Pressing his fingertips against the rippled, vitreous surface, he had the odd sensation that were he to apply sufficient pressure the glass would give way like a permeable membrane, and he would be able to pass right through it, but when he pushed harder, the surface remained cold and unyielding.

Etymology

From Middle French vitreux, from Latin vitreus (“glassy, transparent”), from vitrum (“glass”). The terms vitreous (positive) and resinous (negative) electricity were coined in 1733 by Charles François de Cisternay du Fay, who studied the different behaviour of glass and resin when rubbed with silk and fur, respectively.

This word in other languages

vitreux(Français)glasig(Deutsch)

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 "vitreous"?
"vitreous" is spelled V-I-T-R-E-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvɪtriəs/.
What does "vitreous" mean?
As an adjective, "vitreous" means: Of or resembling glass; glassy.
How do you pronounce "vitreous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vitreous" is /ˈvɪtriəs/. 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 "vitreous"?
From Middle French vitreux, from Latin vitreus (“glassy, transparent”), from vitrum (“glass”). The terms vitreous (positive) and resinous (negative) electricity were coined in 1733 by Charles François de Cisternay du Fay, who studied the different... 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 "vitreous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

virginal#55,181vortices#55,185varietal#55,175vaporize#55,173

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list