incomprehension

noun

"incomprehension" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“incomprehension” is uncommon English (frequency #91,634 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#91,634
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lack of comprehension or understanding; inability to understand.

Corpus desk

Index EN-incomprehension · incomprehension · English

incomprehension · rank #91,634 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #91,634
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH inebriation

Nearest frequency peer: inebriation (+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 “incomprehension”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for incomprehension
PropertyValue
Headwordincomprehension
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters15
Frequency rank#91,634
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “incomprehension” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “inebriation” (#91,635), “immunologic” (#91,631), “interneurons” (#91,640). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “incomprehension” is #91,634. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

incomprehension is uncommon English at frequency #91,634 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Lack of comprehension or understanding; inability to understand.".

Zero misspellings are on record for incomprehension in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From in- + comprehension. The correct English form is incomprehension, spelled I-N-C-O-M-P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lack of comprehension or understanding; inability to understand.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Stephen blushed; and his father looked from one to the other in a state of utter incomprehension.
  2. (...) and the wearied worker, borne at evening through crowded undergrounds, might read his name with a listless incomprehension.

Etymology

From in- + comprehension.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

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 "incomprehension"?
"incomprehension" is spelled I-N-C-O-M-P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-O-N.
What does "incomprehension" mean?
As a noun, "incomprehension" means: Lack of comprehension or understanding; inability to understand.
What is the origin of the word "incomprehension"?
From in- + comprehension. 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 "incomprehension", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 15 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list