vitriol
/ˈvɪtɹiəl/noun, verb
vitriol is spelled V-I-T-R-I-O-L: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, vitriol means “Any of various metal sulphates” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of vitriol is vitriols.
How many letters and syllables are in vitriol?
| Letters | 7: V-I-T-R-I-O-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is vitriol?
Vitriol appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd 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 vitriol?
- US /ˈvɪtɹiəl/
- US /ˈvɪtɹiɑl/
- Canada /ˈvɪtɹiɒl/
Vitriol has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-vitriol.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of vitriol
- vitriols plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- vitrioling US, participle, present
- vitriolling UK, participle, present
- vitrioled US, participle, past
- vitriolled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vitriol mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
datedAny of various metal sulphates.
- 2
datedoil of vitriol (sulfuric acid).
- 3
Bitterly abusive language.
verb
- 1
To subject to bitter verbal abuse.
- 2
To dip in dilute sulfuric acid; to pickle.
- 3
colloquialTo vitriolize.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vitriol in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense various metal sulphates:
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 vitriol come from?
From Middle English vitriol, from Old French vitriol, from Medieval Latin vitriolum (“sulfuric acid”), from vitrum (“glass”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).