imperceptibly

adv

"imperceptibly" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“imperceptibly” is uncommon English (frequency #71,585 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,585
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not noticeably; such that it cannot be detected, through being too small or too fast, etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-imperceptibly · imperceptibly · English

imperceptibly · rank #71,585 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #71,585
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH impoverishment

Nearest frequency peer: impoverishment (+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 “imperceptibly”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for imperceptibly
PropertyValue
Headwordimperceptibly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters13
Frequency rank#71,585
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “imperceptibly” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).imperceptiblyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “impoverishment” (#71,586), “Illingworth” (#71,583), “indecipherable” (#71,587). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “imperceptibly” is #71,585. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

imperceptibly is uncommon English at frequency #71,585 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Not noticeably; such that it cannot be detected, through being too small or too fast, etc.".

No misspelling variants are generated for imperceptibly in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From imperceptible + -ly. The correct English form is imperceptibly, spelled I-M-P-E-R-C-E-P-T-I-B-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not noticeably; such that it cannot be detected, through being too small or too fast, etc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. No one noticed that he had moved imperceptibly backwards.
  2. It often happens that the most important results in the natural world are brought about by causes which operate silently, if not imperceptibly.

Etymology

From imperceptible + -ly.

This word in other languages

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 "imperceptibly"?
"imperceptibly" is spelled I-M-P-E-R-C-E-P-T-I-B-L-Y.
What does "imperceptibly" mean?
As an adverb, "imperceptibly" means: Not noticeably; such that it cannot be detected, through being too small or too fast, etc.
What is the origin of the word "imperceptibly"?
From imperceptible + -ly. 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 "imperceptibly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list