illegality

noun

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

"illegality" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“illegality” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #43,702. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,702
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - the state of being illegal

Corpus desk

Index EN-illegality · illegality · English

illegality · rank #43,702 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #43,702
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH imperious

Nearest frequency peer: imperious (+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 “illegality”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “illegality” 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).

illegality vs illegally
80% similar

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

Key facts for illegality
PropertyValue
Headwordillegality
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#43,702
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “illegality”

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).illegalitylands 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 “imperious” (#43,703), “Iago” (#43,699), “Indore” (#43,705). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “illegality” is #43,702. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around illegality, anoun. Corpus frequency is #43,702 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for illegality, with forms such as "ilegality", "ilelgality", and "illeaglity". 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. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "illegally", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French illégalité, equivalent to il- + legality or illegal + -ity. The correct English form is illegality, spelled I-L-L-E-G-A-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    the state of being illegal
  2. 2
    a defense to the validity of a contract because it was in violation of the law

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The criminal was aware of the illegality of his act.
  2. In Fraenkel’s defiance of mortality and professionalism and his skill in navigating the triple state lay part of the origins of his idea of the dual state. He answered the illegality in the Nazi prerogative state with his own commitment to illegality in both the resistance and even the legal system itself.

Etymology

From French illégalité, equivalent to il- + legality or illegal + -ity.

Synonyms

illegalityillegalnessunlawfulnesslawlessnessunlaw

Antonyms

legality

This word in other languages

ilegalidad(Español)illégalité(Français)Illegalität(Deutsch)ilegalidade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ilegality
  • ilelgality
  • illeaglity
  • illegailty
  • illegalitty
  • illegalityy
  • illegaliyt
  • illegallity
  • illegaltiy
  • illeggality
  • illeglaity
  • illgeality
  • lilegality

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of illegality - 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.

ilegality1ilelgality2illeaglity2illegailty2illegalitty1illegalityy1illegaliyt2illegallity1
Edit distance from "illegality"

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 "illegality"?
"illegality" is spelled I-L-L-E-G-A-L-I-T-Y.
What does "illegality" mean?
As a noun, "illegality" means: the state of being illegal
What words are commonly confused with "illegality"?
"illegality" is commonly confused with "illegally". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "illegality"?
From French illégalité, equivalent to il- + legality or illegal + -ity. 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 "illegality", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

inordinate#43,714instigator#43,718gravestone#43,676gargantuan#43,663

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

insincere13 variantsForsythe13 variantsFinsbury13 variantsduckling13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list