inlaw

/ɪnˈlɔː/

//ɪnˈlɔː// verb

"inlaw" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“inlaw” is uncommon English (frequency #99,407 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,407
frequency rank, English
17,902
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To clear of outlawry or attainder, to return to the protection of the law

Key facts for inlaw
PropertyValue
Headwordinlaw
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪnˈlɔː/
Letters5
Frequency rank#99,407
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “inlaw” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

inlaw is uncommon English at frequency #99,407 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪnˈlɔː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To clear of outlawry or attainder, to return to the protection of the law".

inlaw has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English inlawen, inlaghen, from Old English inlagian, ġeinlagian (“to restore to the protection of the law, inlaw”), equivalent to in- + law. The correct English form is inlaw, spelled I-N-L-A-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    To clear of outlawry or attainder, to return to the protection of the law

Etymology

From Middle English inlawen, inlaghen, from Old English inlagian, ġeinlagian (“to restore to the protection of the law, inlaw”), equivalent to in- + law.

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 "inlaw"?
"inlaw" is spelled I-N-L-A-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈlɔː/.
What does "inlaw" mean?
As a verb, "inlaw" means: To clear of outlawry or attainder, to return to the protection of the law
How do you pronounce "inlaw"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "inlaw" is /ɪnˈlɔː/. 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 "inlaw"?
From Middle English inlawen, inlaghen, from Old English inlagian, ġeinlagian (“to restore to the protection of the law, inlaw”), equivalent to in- + law. 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.

Using “inlaw”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is I-N-L-A-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɪnˈlɔː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list