inoperative
/ɪnˈɒp(ə)ɹətɪv/
"inoperative" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“inoperative” is uncommon English (frequency #60,881 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #60,881
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not working or functioning; either idle or broken.
Corpus desk
Index EN-inoperative · inoperative · English
inoperative · rank #60,881 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #60,881
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH ingot
Nearest frequency peer: ingot (-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 “inoperative”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- in's
in's
39,124 corpus weight
- infantryman
infantryman
39,122 corpus weight
- ingot
ingot
39,121 corpus weight
- inoperative
inoperative
39,120 corpus weight
- instil
instil
39,119 corpus weight
- interconnec…
interconnecting
39,118 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “inoperative” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | inoperative |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪnˈɒp(ə)ɹətɪv/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #60,881 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “inoperative” in English
Rare enough to double-check
inoperative is uncommon English at frequency #60,881 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɪnˈɒp(ə)ɹətɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for inoperative, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From in- + operative. The correct English form is inoperative, spelled I-N-O-P-E-R-A-T-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1Not working or functioning; either idle or broken.
- 2No longer legally binding.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how inoperative appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Let me see if I can dial this number right quick / "I am sorry, the government you have elected is inoperative / Click. Inoperative"
RSSB's report, released on September 23 2004, revealed that that the parking brakes on neither trolley had applied. It also revealed how the fixed piping carrying hydraulic pressure to the brake units on both had been severed and blanked off. This meant the parking brakes would not have been able to be released from the RRV. Washers to provide a clamping…
Etymology
From in- + operative.
This word in other languages
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "inoperative", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).