impious

/ˈɪmpi.əs/

//ˈɪmpi.əs// adj

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

"impious" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“impious” is uncommon English (frequency #82,403 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,403
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not pious.

Corpus desk

Index EN-impious · impious · English

impious · rank #82,403 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #82,403
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH Imus

Nearest frequency peer: Imus (+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 “impious”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for impious
PropertyValue
Headwordimpious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɪmpi.əs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#82,403
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “impious” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).impiousfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Imus” (#82,404), “inbounds” (#82,405), “IFP” (#82,400). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “impious” is #82,403. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

impious is uncommon English at frequency #82,403 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈɪmpi.əs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

impious doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin impius. The correct English form is impious, spelled I-M-P-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not pious.
  2. 2
    Lacking reverence or respect, especially towards a god.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] I alvvayes thought / It vvas both impious and vnnaturall, / That ſuch immanity and bloody ſtrife / Should reigne among Profeſſors of one Faith.
  2. […] surfaces too great to belong to anything right or proper for this earth, and impious with horrible images and hieroglyphs.

Etymology

From Latin impius.

This word in other languages

impío(Español)impie(Français)pietätlos(Deutsch)ímpio(Português)

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 "impious"?
"impious" is spelled I-M-P-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪmpi.əs/.
What does "impious" mean?
As an adjective, "impious" means: Not pious.
How do you pronounce "impious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "impious" is /ˈɪmpi.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 "impious"?
From Latin impius. 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 "impious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

inducer#82,407humoral#82,396Homburg#82,391hibachi#82,382

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list