incurable

/ˌɪnˈkjʊəɹəbl/

//ˌɪnˈkjʊəɹəbl// adj

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

"incurable" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“incurable” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,879. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,879
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of an illness, condition, etc, that is unable to be cured; healless.

Corpus desk

Index EN-incurable · incurable · English

incurable · rank #27,879 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #27,879
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH incriminating

Nearest frequency peer: incriminating (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “incurable”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “incurable” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

incurable vs incapable
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for incurable
PropertyValue
Headwordincurable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌɪnˈkjʊəɹəbl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#27,879
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “incurable”

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).incurablelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “incriminating” (#27,878), “incessant” (#27,877), “informatics” (#27,881). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “incurable” is #27,879. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around incurable (IPA /ˌɪnˈkjʊəɹəbl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #27,879 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for incurable, with forms such as "icnurable", "inccurable", and "incruable". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "incapable", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French incurable, from Late Latin incurabilis. The correct English form is incurable, spelled I-N-C-U-R-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of an illness, condition, etc, that is unable to be cured; healless.
  2. 2
    Irremediable, incorrigible.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. They were labouring under a profound, and, as it might have seemed, an almost incurable ignorance.
  2. an incurable romantic

Etymology

From Old French incurable, from Late Latin incurabilis.

Synonyms

uncurable

Antonyms

curable

This word in other languages

incurable(Español)incurable(Français)unheilbar(Deutsch)incurável(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • icnurable
  • inccurable
  • incruable
  • incuarble
  • incurabble
  • incurabel
  • incurablle
  • incuralbe
  • incurbale
  • incurible
  • incurrable
  • inncurable
  • inucrable
  • nicurable

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of incurable - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

icnurable2inccurable1incruable2incuarble2incurabble1incurabel2incurablle1incuralbe2
Edit distance from "incurable"

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 "incurable"?
"incurable" is spelled I-N-C-U-R-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɪnˈkjʊəɹəbl/.
What does "incurable" mean?
As an adjective, "incurable" means: Of an illness, condition, etc, that is unable to be cured; healless.
What words are commonly confused with "incurable"?
"incurable" is commonly confused with "incapable". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "incurable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "incurable" is /ˌɪnˈkjʊəɹəbl/. 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 "incurable"?
From Old French incurable, from Late Latin incurabilis. 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 "incurable", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

incessant#27,877infringed#27,882invariant#27,888jailbreak#27,890

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

ionization14 variantsGuildford14 variantsgroupings14 variantsgrasshopper14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list