unbearablevsunbreakableWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“unbearable” and “unbreakable” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,726
“unbearable” frequency rank
#24,621
“unbreakable” frequency rank
40347
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unbearable unbreakable
Definition So unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable. Difficult or impossible to break and therefore able to withstand rough usage.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set unbearable and unbreakable apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
unbearable
11 ch
unbreakable

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

unbearable and unbreakable are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40347, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unbearable is recorded at frequency rank #15,726, classified as anadj. unbreakable is at rank #24,621, tagged as anadj.

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 40347, this pair ranks #268,435 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of unbearable vs unbreakable

Shared letters: abelnru. Private to "unbearable": -. Private to "unbreakable": k.

"unbearable" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCVCCV  ·  "unbreakable" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unbearablenubearable · ubnearable · unbaerable · unbbearable · unbeaarble · unbearabble · unbearabel · unbearablle
  • unbreakablenubreakable · ubnreakable · unbbreakable · unberakable · unbraekable · unbreaakble · unbreakabble · unbreakabel

Frequency comparison

unbearable#15,726
unbreakable#24,621

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unbearable" and "unbreakable" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "unbearable" or "unbreakable"?
"unbearable" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,726 in our English list, against #24,621 for "unbreakable". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering unbearable vs unbreakable

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list