Which to use
“unreasonable” is an adjective and “unreasonably” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,470
- “unreasonable” frequency rank
- #32,227
- “unreasonably” frequency rank
- 42697
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unreasonable | unreasonably |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Without the ability to reason; unreasoning. | In an unreasonable manner. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set unreasonable and unreasonably apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unreasonable is /ʌnˈɹiːz.(ə)nə.bl̩/ while unreasonably is /ʌnˈɹiː.zən.ə.bli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “unreasonable” becomes y in “unreasonably”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42697, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unreasonable is recorded at frequency rank #10,470, classified as anadj, pronounced /ʌnˈɹiːz.(ə)nə.bl̩/. unreasonably is at rank #32,227, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ʌnˈɹiː.zən.ə.bli/.
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 42697, this pair ranks #246,894 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of unreasonable vs unreasonably
Shared letters: abelnorsu. Private to "unreasonable": -. Private to "unreasonably": y.
"unreasonable" · 12 letters · shape VCCVVCVCVCCV · "unreasonably" · 12 letters · shape VCCVVCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- unreasonable ← nureasonable · unerasonable · unnreasonable · unraesonable · unreaosnable · unreasnoable · unreasoanble · unreasonabble
- unreasonably ← nureasonably · unerasonably · unnreasonably · unraesonably · unreaosnably · unreasnoably · unreasoanbly · unreasonabbly
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "unreasonable" and "unreasonably" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "unreasonable" or "unreasonably"?
Remembering unreasonable vs unreasonably
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “unreasonable”; for an adverb, it's “unreasonably”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “unreasonable” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable