impelled

/ɪmˈpɛld/

//ɪmˈpɛld// verb

"impelled" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“impelled” is uncommon English (frequency #69,947 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,947
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of impel

Corpus desk

Index EN-impelled · impelled · English

impelled · rank #69,947 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #69,947
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH IMEI

Nearest frequency peer: IMEI (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “impelled”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “impelled” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for impelled
PropertyValue
Headwordimpelled
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪmˈpɛld/
Letters8
Frequency rank#69,947
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “impelled” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).impelledfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “IMEI” (#69,946), “illusive” (#69,945), “indistinctly” (#69,949). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “impelled” is #69,947. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

impelled is uncommon English at frequency #69,947 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪmˈpɛld/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "simple past and past participle of impel".

No misspelling variants are generated for impelled in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is impelled, spelled I-M-P-E-L-L-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of impel

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 "impelled"?
"impelled" is spelled I-M-P-E-L-L-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪmˈpɛld/.
What does "impelled" mean?
As a verb, "impelled" means: simple past and past participle of impel
How do you pronounce "impelled"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "impelled" is /ɪmˈpɛld/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "impelled" come from?
"impelled" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "impelled", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list