ineligible

adj

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

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

The verdict

“ineligible” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,868. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,868
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not eligible; forbidden to do something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ineligible · ineligible · English

ineligible · rank #19,868 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #19,868
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH infusion

Nearest frequency peer: infusion (+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 “ineligible”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “ineligible” 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).

ineligible vs intelligible
83% similar

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

Key facts for ineligible
PropertyValue
Headwordineligible
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters10
Frequency rank#19,868
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ineligible”

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).ineligiblelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “infusion” (#19,869), “impulses” (#19,866), “improbable” (#19,865). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “ineligible” is #19,868. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around ineligible, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #19,868 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Not eligible; forbidden to do something.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for ineligible, with forms such as "ienligible", "ineilgible", and "inelgiible". 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, "intelligible", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French inéligible. The correct English form is ineligible, spelled I-N-E-L-I-G-I-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not eligible; forbidden to do something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Employees of the promoter are ineligible to enter the competition.

Etymology

From French inéligible.

Synonyms

unqualified

Antonyms

eligible

This word in other languages

inéligible(Français)untauglich(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ienligible
  • ineilgible
  • inelgiible
  • ineligable
  • ineligbile
  • ineliggible
  • ineligibble
  • ineligibel
  • ineligiblle
  • ineligilbe
  • ineliigble
  • inelligible
  • inleigible
  • inneligible
  • nieligible

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ineligible - 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.

ienligible2ineilgible2inelgiible2ineligable1ineligbile2ineliggible1ineligibble1ineligibel2
Edit distance from "ineligible"

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 "ineligible"?
"ineligible" is spelled I-N-E-L-I-G-I-B-L-E.
What does "ineligible" mean?
As an adjective, "ineligible" means: Not eligible; forbidden to do something.
What words are commonly confused with "ineligible"?
"ineligible" is commonly confused with "intelligible". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "ineligible"?
From French inéligible. 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 "ineligible", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

improbable#19,865justifying#19,875generously#19,846modulation#19,908

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

housekeeper15 variantscrumbling15 variantspediatrics15 variantscongenital15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list