imbecile
/ɪmbəˈsiːl/
"imbecile" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“imbecile” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #34,118 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #34,118
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person with limited mental capacity who can perform tasks and think only like a young child, in medical circles meaning a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a norma...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | imbecile |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪmbəˈsiːl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #34,118 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “imbecile” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for imbecile is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪmbəˈsiːl/. Corpus data places it at rank #34,118 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for imbecile, with forms such as "ibmecile", "imbbecile", and "imbceile". 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. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French imbécile, from Latin imbēcillus (“weak, feeble”), literally “without a staff”. The correct English form is imbecile, spelled I-M-B-E-C-I-L-E.
Definition
- 1A person with limited mental capacity who can perform tasks and think only like a young child, in medical circles meaning a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal five- to seven-year-old child.
- 2A fool, an idiot.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French imbécile, from Latin imbēcillus (“weak, feeble”), literally “without a staff”.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ibmecile,imbbecile,imbceile,imbeccile,imbeciel,imbecille,imbeclie,imbeicle,imebcile,immbecile,mibecile
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of imbecile - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "imbecile"?
What does "imbecile" mean?
What are common misspellings of "imbecile"?
How do you pronounce "imbecile"?
What is the origin of the word "imbecile"?
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Using “imbecile”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-M-B-E-C-I-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪmbəˈsiːl/ (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.