rictus

[ˈrikt̪us]

/[ˈrikt̪us]/ noun

The verdict

“rictus” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #96,755 among 4,151 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#96,755
frequency rank, Spanish
4,151
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Expresión facial en la cual se levanta una esquina del labio superior, revelando algunos dientes. Puede expresar desprecio, o ser una risa forzada.

Corpus desk

Index ES-rictus · rictus · Spanish

rictus · rank #96,755 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #96,755
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH revolotea

Nearest frequency peer: revolotea (-3 rank slots)

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.

Rangos de cola larga cerca de “rictus”

Banda escasa: las barras invierten el rango para que lo raro se lea más corto

corpus weight

What this shows Vista de cola larga: dónde “rictus” se sitúa frente a rangos españoles igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for rictus
PropertyValue
Headwordrictus
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈrikt̪us]
Letters6
Frequency rank#96,755
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “rictus” en español

De izquierda a derecha: las pocas palabras que cargan el habla diaria, luego la cola larga casi invisible.rictuscae en esta cola de rareza:

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

El eje es logarítmico: cada tick marca unas diez veces menos frecuencia. Vecinos raros de la misma franja: “revolotea” (#96,752), “revierten” (#96,751), “roan” (#96,759). Entre 4,151 lemas con “R”, “rictus” va en #96,755. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rictus is uncommon Spanish at frequency #96,755 among 4,151 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈrikt̪us]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for rictus, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable Spanish rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Spanish form is rictus, spelled R-I-C-T-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Expresión facial en la cual se levanta una esquina del labio superior, revelando algunos dientes. Puede expresar desprecio, o ser una risa forzada.
  2. 2
    Gesto en la cara que expresa algún estado de ánimo.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. «Pero a lo mejor no sirve para otra cosa que para dar aliento a Aznar, ausente de la escena y protegido por su bigote de cualquier rictus que delate su fe en su propio futuro político».
  2. «Comprobé que las facciones de don Walter se iban distendiendo, que relajaba el ceño y ablandaba el rictus de los pómulos […]».

Synonyms

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 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rictus"?
"rictus" is spelled R-I-C-T-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈrikt̪us].
What does "rictus" mean?
As a noun, "rictus" means: Expresión facial en la cual se levanta una esquina del labio superior, revelando algunos dientes. Puede expresar desprecio, o ser una risa forzada.
How do you pronounce "rictus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rictus" is [ˈrikt̪us]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "rictus" come from?
"rictus" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 Spanish words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list