winsome

/ˈwɪn.səm/

//ˈwɪn.səm// adj

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

"winsome" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“winsome” is uncommon English (frequency #60,568 among 1,759 “W” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,568
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Charming, engaging, winning; inspiring approval and trust, especially if in an innocent manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-winsome · winsome · English

winsome · rank #60,568 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,568
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH Windhoek

Nearest frequency peer: Windhoek (-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 “winsome”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for winsome
PropertyValue
Headwordwinsome
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈwɪn.səm/
Letters7
Frequency rank#60,568
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “winsome” 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).winsomefalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Windhoek” (#60,567), “Wintour” (#60,569), “Witwatersrand” (#60,570). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “winsome” is #60,568. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

winsome is uncommon English at frequency #60,568 among 1,759 “W” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈwɪn.səm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Charming, engaging, winning; inspiring approval and trust, especially if in an innocent manner.".

winsome doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English wynsom, winsom, winsome, winsum, wunsum (“beautiful; agreeable, gracious, pleasant; generous; of situations: favourable, propitious”), from Old English wynsum (“joyful, merry, pleasant; winsome”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunn… The correct English form is winsome, spelled W-I-N-S-O-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Charming, engaging, winning; inspiring approval and trust, especially if in an innocent manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] lifting her winsome eyes to my face with that sort of look which turns off bad temper, even when one has all the right in the world to indulge it.
  2. Will ye keep your troth to me, / Winsome Annie Ramsay? / Will ye keep your troth to me, / Winsome Annie Ramsay? / Will ye keep your troth to me? / My ain true luve will ye be? / Then meet me at the trysting tree, / Winsome Annie Ramsay.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English wynsom, winsom, winsome, winsum, wunsum (“beautiful; agreeable, gracious, pleasant; generous; of situations: favourable, propitious”), from Old English wynsum (“joyful, merry, pleasant; winsome”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunnjusam (“joyful”). By surface analysis, winne (“delight, joy, pleasure”) + -some.

This word in other languages

encantador(Español)gewinnend(Deutsch)atraente(Português)

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 "winsome"?
"winsome" is spelled W-I-N-S-O-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɪn.səm/.
What does "winsome" mean?
As an adjective, "winsome" means: Charming, engaging, winning; inspiring approval and trust, especially if in an innocent manner.
How do you pronounce "winsome"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "winsome" is /ˈwɪn.səm/. 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 "winsome"?
Inherited from Middle English wynsom, winsom, winsome, winsum, wunsum (“beautiful; agreeable, gracious, pleasant; generous; of situations: favourable, propitious”), from Old English wynsum (“joyful, merry, pleasant; winsome”), from Proto-West Germ... 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 "winsome", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Wintour#60,569wavelet#60,562warding#60,557Yisrael#60,582

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list