inimical

/ɪˈnɪ.mɪ.kəl/

//ɪˈnɪ.mɪ.kəl// adj

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

"inimical" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“inimical” is uncommon English (frequency #77,799 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,799
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Harmful in effect.

Corpus desk

Index EN-inimical · inimical · English

inimical · rank #77,799 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #77,799
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH ingroup

Nearest frequency peer: ingroup (-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 “inimical”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for inimical
PropertyValue
Headwordinimical
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɪˈnɪ.mɪ.kəl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#77,799
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “inimical” 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).inimicalfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “ingroup” (#77,798), “infiltrator” (#77,797), “interdepartmental” (#77,802). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “inimical” is #77,799. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

inimical is uncommon English at frequency #77,799 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɪˈnɪ.mɪ.kəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for inimical in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin inimīcālis (“hostile”), from inimīcus (“enemy”) (from in- (“not”) + amīcus (“friend”)) + -ālis. The correct English form is inimical, spelled I-N-I-M-I-C-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Harmful in effect.
  2. 2
    Unfriendly, hostile.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She doesn’t want to touch it, and indeed every particle of her screams against doing so because it is somehow inimical to her.
  2. Her inimical attitude precludes romance.

Etymology

From Late Latin inimīcālis (“hostile”), from inimīcus (“enemy”) (from in- (“not”) + amīcus (“friend”)) + -ālis.

Synonyms

inimicinimicableantagonistic

Antonyms

amicable

This word in other languages

nocivo(Español)nuisible(Français)schädlich(Deutsch)

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 "inimical"?
"inimical" is spelled I-N-I-M-I-C-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪˈnɪ.mɪ.kəl/.
What does "inimical" mean?
As an adjective, "inimical" means: Harmful in effect.
How do you pronounce "inimical"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "inimical" is /ɪˈnɪ.mɪ.kəl/. 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 "inimical"?
From Late Latin inimīcālis (“hostile”), from inimīcus (“enemy”) (from in- (“not”) + amīcus (“friend”)) + -ālis. 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 "inimical", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

imitator#77,793Landover#77,846Lansdale#77,848Hazelton#77,748

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list