ill-boding
"ill-boding" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ill-boding” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Which bodes evil; portending bad things.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ill-boding |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ill-boding” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ill-boding is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Which bodes evil; portending bad things.".
No misspelling variants are generated for ill-boding in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From ill + boding. The correct English form is ill-boding, spelled I-L-L---B-O-D-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Which bodes evil; portending bad things.
Etymology
From ill + boding.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “ill-boding”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-L-L---B-O-D-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.