inhumane
/ˌɪnhjuːˈmeɪn/
"inhumane" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“inhumane” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #24,201 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #24,201
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Alternative form of inhuman: lacking pity or compassion for misery and suffering; cruel, unkind.
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 | inhumane |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌɪnhjuːˈmeɪn/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #24,201 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “inhumane” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for inhumane is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɪnhjuːˈmeɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #24,201 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Alternative form of inhuman: lacking pity or compassion for misery and suffering; cruel, unkind.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for inhumane, with forms such as "ihnumane", "inhhumane", and "inhmuane". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "inhuman", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Originally a variant spelling and pronunciation of inhuman, ultimately from Latin inhūmānus; it appears to have died out 17c. but returned c. 1822, probably a reformation as a negative of humane from in- + humane. The correct English form is inhumane, spelled I-N-H-U-M-A-N-E.
Definition
- 1Alternative form of inhuman: lacking pity or compassion for misery and suffering; cruel, unkind.
Etymology
Originally a variant spelling and pronunciation of inhuman, ultimately from Latin inhūmānus; it appears to have died out 17c. but returned c. 1822, probably a reformation as a negative of humane from in- + humane.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ihnumane,inhhumane,inhmuane,inhuamne,inhumaen,inhumanne,inhummane,inhumnae,innhumane,inuhmane,nihumane
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of inhumane - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
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Using “inhumane”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-H-U-M-A-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɪnhjuːˈmeɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “inhuman” - see the side-by-side comparison. inhumane vs inhuman
- 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.