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” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #33,680 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#33,680
frequency rank, English
10
letters
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Unaffected or unable to be affected by something.

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)

Where “impervious” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for impervious is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪmˈpɜːvi.əs/. Corpus data places it at rank #33,680 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “impervious”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is I-M-P-E-R-V-I-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɪmˈpɜːvi.əs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “imperious” - see the side-by-side comparison. impervious vs imperious
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list