improperly
/ɪmˈpɹɑ.pɚ.li/adverb
improperly is spelled I-M-P-R-O-P-E-R-L-Y: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, improperly means “In an improper manner; not properly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in improperly?
| Letters | 10: I-M-P-R-O-P-E-R-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,297th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is improperly?
Improperly appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce improperly?
- US /ɪmˈpɹɑ.pɚ.li/
Improperly has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Qwertygiy-improperly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of improperly
- more improperly comparative
- most improperly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does improperly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In an improper manner; not properly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Improperly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in an improper manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | improprement |
| Portuguese | inadequadamente |
| Spanish | impropriamente, impropiamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does improperly come from?
From Middle English improprelich, impropreliche, impropurly, inproperlye; equivalent to improper + -ly or im- + properly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).