illegal

/ɪˈliːɡəl/

//ɪˈliːɡəl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"illegal" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“illegal” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,115. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,115
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Contrary to, forbidden, or not authorized by law, especially criminal law.

Corpus desk

Index EN-illegal · illegal · English

illegal · rank #2,115 · 8 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,115
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH hero

Nearest frequency peer: hero (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “illegal”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “illegal” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

illegal vs illegally
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for illegal
PropertyValue
Headwordillegal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɪˈliːɡəl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#2,115
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “illegal”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).illegallands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “hero” (#2,114), “increasing” (#2,116), “girlfriend” (#2,113). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “illegal” is #2,115. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around illegal (IPA /ɪˈliːɡəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,115 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for illegal, with forms such as "ilegal", "ilelgal", and "illeagl". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "illegally", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French illégal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, from Latin legalis, by surface analysis, il- + legal. In senses relating to immigration, via clipping of illegal alien or illegal immigrant. The correct English form is illegal, spelled I-L-L-E-G-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Contrary to, forbidden, or not authorized by law, especially criminal law.
  2. 2
    Forbidden by established rules.
  3. 3
    Totally fictitious, and often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country.
  4. 4
    Being or doing something illegally.
  5. 5
    Being an illegal immigrant; residing in a country illegally.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how illegal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This is illegal, you know!
  2. Nearly 40 million people live in UK areas with illegal air pollution

Etymology

Borrowed from French illégal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, from Latin legalis, by surface analysis, il- + legal. In senses relating to immigration, via clipping of illegal alien or illegal immigrant.

This word in other languages

ilegal(Español)illégal(Français)illegal(Deutsch)proibido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ilegal
  • ilelgal
  • illeagl
  • illegall
  • illeggal
  • illegla
  • illgeal
  • lilegal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of illegal - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ilegal1ilelgal2illeagl2illegall1illeggal1illegla2illgeal2lilegal2
Edit distance from "illegal"

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 "illegal"?
"illegal" is spelled I-L-L-E-G-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪˈliːɡəl/.
What does "illegal" mean?
As an adjective, "illegal" means: Contrary to, forbidden, or not authorized by law, especially criminal law.
What words are commonly confused with "illegal"?
"illegal" is commonly confused with "illegally". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "illegal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "illegal" is /ɪˈliːɡəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "illegal"?
Borrowed from French illégal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, from Latin legalis, by surface analysis, il- + legal. In senses relating to immigration, via clipping of illegal alien or illegal immigrant. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "illegal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

methods#2,119express#2,110charges#2,101attacks#2,100

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

stuck8 variantsupdate8 variantsaffairs8 variantsapplied8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list