impervious

/ɪmˈpɜːvi.əs/

//ɪmˈpɜːvi.əs// adj

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

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

The verdict

“impervious” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,680. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,680
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Unaffected or unable to be affected by something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-impervious · impervious · English

impervious · rank #33,680 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #33,680
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH Igbo

Nearest frequency peer: Igbo (-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 “impervious”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “impervious” 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).

impervious vs imperious
90% similar

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

Key facts for impervious
PropertyValue
Headwordimpervious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɪmˈpɜːvi.əs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#33,680
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “impervious”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).imperviouslands 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 “Igbo” (#33,679), “implausible” (#33,681), “iconography” (#33,678). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “impervious” is #33,680. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around impervious (IPA /ɪmˈpɜːvi.əs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #33,680 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for impervious, with forms such as "imeprvious", "immpervious", and "imperivous". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "imperious", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin impervius (“that cannot be passed through”), from in- (“not”) + pervius (“letting things through”). The correct English form is impervious, spelled I-M-P-E-R-V-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Unaffected or unable to be affected by something.
  2. 2
    Preventive of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable, particularly of water.
  3. 3
    Immune to damage or effect.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The man was completely impervious to the deception we were trying.
  2. Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.

Etymology

From Latin impervius (“that cannot be passed through”), from in- (“not”) + pervius (“letting things through”).

Antonyms

pervious

This word in other languages

inmune(Español)immunisé(Français)gleichgültig(Deutsch)impenetrável(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imeprvious
  • immpervious
  • imperivous
  • imperrvious
  • imperviosu
  • imperviouss
  • imperviuos
  • impervoius
  • impervvious
  • impevrious
  • imppervious
  • imprevious
  • ipmervious
  • mipervious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

imeprvious2immpervious1imperivous2imperrvious1imperviosu2imperviouss1imperviuos2impervoius2
Edit distance from "impervious"

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 "impervious"?
"impervious" is spelled I-M-P-E-R-V-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪmˈpɜːvi.əs/.
What does "impervious" mean?
As an adjective, "impervious" means: Unaffected or unable to be affected by something.
What words are commonly confused with "impervious"?
"impervious" is commonly confused with "imperious". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "impervious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "impervious" is /ɪmˈpɜːvi.əs/. 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 "impervious"?
From Latin impervius (“that cannot be passed through”), from in- (“not”) + pervius (“letting things through”). 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 "impervious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

humanistic#33,676inflection#33,686innocently#33,687harnessing#33,672

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

firefight14 variantsMcFarlane14 variantsoriginator14 variantsoverthrew14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list