Which to use
“inexplicable” is an adjective and “inexplicably” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,480
- “inexplicable” frequency rank
- #28,594
- “inexplicably” frequency rank
- 53074
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inexplicable | inexplicably |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Impossible to explain; not easily accounted for. | In an inexplicable manner; for an unknown reason. |
Letter map: inexplicable vs inexplicably
Shared letters muted; letters that set inexplicable and inexplicably apart highlighted. Shared run: 11.
Grammar separator: inexplicable vs inexplicably
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: inexplicable is anadjective and inexplicablyanadverb. On the page they differ by a single letter - e in “inexplicable” becomes y in “inexplicably”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53074, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inexplicable is recorded at frequency rank #24,480, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˌɪn.ɪkˈsplɪ.kə.bl̩/. inexplicably is at rank #28,594, tagged as anadv.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 53074, this pair ranks #151,880 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of inexplicable vs inexplicably
Shared letters: abceilnpx. Private to "inexplicable": -. Private to "inexplicably": y.
"inexplicable" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCVCVCCV · "inexplicably" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- inexplicable ← ienxplicable · inepxlicable · inexlpicable · inexpilcable · inexplciable · inexpliacble · inexplicabble · inexplicabel
- inexplicably ← ienxplicably · inepxlicably · inexlpicably · inexpilcably · inexplciably · inexpliacbly · inexplicabbly · inexplicablly
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "inexplicable" and "inexplicably" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "inexplicable" or "inexplicably"?
What to do next
Pair "inexplicable" vs "inexplicably" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "inexplicable" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "inexplicably" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #151,880 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "inexplicable" and "inexplicably" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inexplicably vs inextricably". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #151,880 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.