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Rahiros's avatar
Rahiros
Copper Contributor
Sep 30, 2025
Solved

Delete cells with exactly three syllables

I'm not sure if this is too specific a command to use in Excel, but I have a column in which I want to delete all cells in that column with exactly 3 syllables in them. Is this even possible?
  • SnowMan55's avatar
    SnowMan55
    Oct 03, 2025

    If you had been intending to identify word length in syllables, you would need a pronunciation source, such as most dictionaries.  The Gutenberg Project offers (for free) this old-but-undated Webster's Unabridged Dictionary that could be used for that; the extraction of words and their syllable counts would include significant VBA coding.  But the derived word forms (noun plurals, verb tenses, etc.) would be incomplete, and as this is an old work, some word spellings have changed, some pronunciations have changed, and other words were then not yet in use.

    Identifying the number of consonants is more straightforward, but the sometimes-vowels Y and W cause a problem.  See the attached workbook for more information and a partial solution.  The count of consonants can mostly be done with formulas (I used helper columns).  But to "delete" words requires a script; I include VBA code for that in the workbook.  (The workbook is not macro-enabled; I will assume that you know how to create and edit macros.)

    Edit: The forum software again loses a file that I attached (but it was not the one I intended anyway).  Trying again...

    Edit #2: Well that failed also.  So access the workbook on OneDrive: 2025-10-02 RAHI words containing 3 consonants.xlsx 

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