abominable
/əˈbɑm.ə.nə.bl̩/
"abominable" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“abominable” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #34,763 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #34,763
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Worthy of, or causing, abhorrence, as a thing of evil omen; odious in the utmost degree; very hateful; detestable; loathsome; execrable.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | abominable |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /əˈbɑm.ə.nə.bl̩/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #34,763 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “abominable” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for abominable is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈbɑm.ə.nə.bl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #34,763 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for abominable, with forms such as "abbominable", "abmoinable", and "aboimnable". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English abhomynable, from Old French abominable, from Late Latin abōminābilis (“deserving abhorrence”), from abōminor (“abhor, deprecate as an ill omen”), from ab (“from, away from”) + ōminor (“forebode, predict, presage”), from ōmen (“sign, tok… The correct English form is abominable, spelled A-B-O-M-I-N-A-B-L-E.
Definition
- 1Worthy of, or causing, abhorrence, as a thing of evil omen; odious in the utmost degree; very hateful; detestable; loathsome; execrable.
- 2Excessive, large (used as an intensifier).
- 3Very bad or inferior.
- 4Disagreeable or unpleasant.
Etymology
From Middle English abhomynable, from Old French abominable, from Late Latin abōminābilis (“deserving abhorrence”), from abōminor (“abhor, deprecate as an ill omen”), from ab (“from, away from”) + ōminor (“forebode, predict, presage”), from ōmen (“sign, token, omen”). Formerly erroneously folk-etymologized as deriving from Latin ab- + homo, literally "away from humankind," and therefore spelled abhominable, abhominal (Hence, Shakespeare puns on this when Hamlet speaks of incompetent actors that "imitate humanity abominably.")
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: abbominable,abmoinable,aboimnable,abomianble,abominabble,abominabel,abominablle,abominalbe,abominbale,abominible,abominnable,abomminable,abomniable,aobminable,baominable
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abominable - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "abominable"?
What does "abominable" mean?
What are common misspellings of "abominable"?
How do you pronounce "abominable"?
What is the origin of the word "abominable"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “abominable”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-B-O-M-I-N-A-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈbɑm.ə.nə.bl̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.