wholesome
whole·some/ˈhoʊl.səm/adjective
wholesome is spelled W-H-O-L-E-S-O-M-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables (whole·some). It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,731st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, wholesome means “Promoting good physical health and well-being” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in wholesome?
| Letters | 9: W-H-O-L-E-S-O-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: whole·some |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,731st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is wholesome?
Wholesome appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,731st 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 wholesome?
- US /ˈhoʊl.səm/
- UK /ˈhəʊl.səm/
Wholesome has 2 syllables, split whole·some in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-wholesome.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with wholesome?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as wholesome from its last stressed vowel (/oʊlsəm/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of wholesome
- more wholesome comparative
- wholesomer comparative
- most wholesome superlative
- wholesomest superlative
- holesom
- holesome
- wholsom
- wholsome
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wholesome mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Promoting good physical health and well-being.
- 2
Promoting moral and mental well-being.
- 3
Favorable to morals, religion or prosperity; sensible; conducive to good; salutary; promoting virtue or being virtuous.
- 4
Marked by wholeness; sound and healthy.
- 5
Decent; innocuous; sweet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wholesome in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | salubre, sain , vertueux |
| German | gesund, heilsam, gesundheitsfördernd, gesundheitsförderlich , tugendhaft, rechtschaffen |
| Portuguese | saudável , íntegro , salutar |
| Spanish | saludable , íntegro , sano, lozano, edificante, substancioso |
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 wholesome come from?
From earlier holesome, from Middle English holsom, holsum, helsum, halsum, from Old English *hālsum, *hǣlsum, from Proto-West Germanic *hailasam, from Proto-Germanic *hailasamaz, equivalent to whole + -some or hale (“healthy”) + -some. Cognate with Saterland Frisian heelsoam, Dutch heilzaam, German Low German heelsaam, German heilsam, Icelandic heilsamur, Norwegian Nynorsk helsesam, Swedish hälsosam (“wholesome”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).