inadequate
/ɪnˈædəkwɪt/
"inadequate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“inadequate” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,348 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #9,348
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not adequate; lacking in quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | inadequate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪnˈædəkwɪt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #9,348 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “inadequate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for inadequate is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˈædəkwɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,348 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Not adequate; lacking in quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for inadequate, with forms such as "iandequate", "inaddequate", and "inadeqaute". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "inadequately", "inadequacy", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From in- + adequate. The correct English form is inadequate, spelled I-N-A-D-E-Q-U-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1Not adequate; lacking in quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose.
Etymology
From in- + adequate.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iandequate,inaddequate,inadeqaute,inadeqquate,inadequaet,inadequatte,inadequtae,inadeuqate,inadqeuate,inaedquate,indaequate,innadequate,niadequate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of inadequate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "inadequate"?
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Using “inadequate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-A-D-E-Q-U-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˈædəkwɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “inadequately” - see the side-by-side comparison. inadequate vs inadequately
- 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.