Which to use
“unbearable” is an adjective and “unbearably” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,726
- “unbearable” frequency rank
- #45,141
- “unbearably” frequency rank
- 60867
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unbearable | unbearably |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | So unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable. | In an unbearable manner, not bearably, in a way unable to be borne. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set unbearable and unbearably apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: unbearable is anadjective and unbearablyanadverb. On the page they differ by a single letter - e in “unbearable” becomes y in “unbearably”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60867, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unbearable is recorded at frequency rank #15,726, classified as anadj. unbearably is at rank #45,141, 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 60867, this pair ranks #97,650 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of unbearable vs unbearably
Shared letters: abelnru. Private to "unbearable": -. Private to "unbearably": y.
"unbearable" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCVCCV · "unbearably" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- unbearable ← nubearable · ubnearable · unbaerable · unbbearable · unbeaarble · unbearabble · unbearabel · unbearablle
- unbearably ← nubearably · ubnearably · unbaerably · unbbearably · unbeaarbly · unbearabbly · unbearablly · unbearablyy
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "unbearable" and "unbearably" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "unbearable" or "unbearably"?
Remembering unbearable vs unbearably
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “unbearable”; for an adverb, it's “unbearably”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “unbearable” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable