improbably

adv

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

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

The verdict

“improbably” is uncommon English (frequency #67,525 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,525
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In an improbable manner; without probability.

Corpus desk

Index EN-improbably · improbably · English

improbably · rank #67,525 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,525
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH imputation

Nearest frequency peer: imputation (+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 “improbably”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for improbably
PropertyValue
Headwordimprobably
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters10
Frequency rank#67,525
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “improbably” 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).improbablyfalls 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: “imputation” (#67,526), “inculcate” (#67,527), “immensity” (#67,522). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “improbably” is #67,525. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

improbably is uncommon English at frequency #67,525 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In an improbable manner; without probability.".

improbably has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From improbable + -ly. The correct English form is improbably, spelled I-M-P-R-O-B-A-B-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In an improbable manner; without probability.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. […]and two enormous Scottish poems, the Buik of Alexander, which has been improbably ascribed to Barbour, and Sir Gilbert Hay's Buik of Alexander the Conquerour; one nearly complete Prose Life of Alexander and fragments of four others; a stanzaic translation of the Fuerres de Gadres which survives only in a fragment, the Romance of Cassamus, and three sep…

Etymology

From improbable + -ly.

Antonyms

probably

This word in other languages

improbablemente(Español)invraisemblablement(Français)unwahrscheinlich(Deutsch)

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 "improbably"?
"improbably" is spelled I-M-P-R-O-B-A-B-L-Y.
What does "improbably" mean?
As an adverb, "improbably" means: In an improbable manner; without probability.
What is the origin of the word "improbably"?
From improbable + -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 "improbably", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

imputation#67,526integrally#67,531Hoffenheim#67,506histrionic#67,504

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list