insubordination

Name: insubordination, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“insubordination” has 23 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #43,719. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,719
frequency rank, English: 17,902
“I” headwords: 23
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The quality or state of being insubordinate; disobedience to lawful authority; specifically, an employee's failure or refusal to comply with a request or an assignment given by his/her supervisor.

Key facts for insubordination
Property	Value
Headword	insubordination
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
Letters	15
Frequency rank	#43,719
Misspellings tracked	23
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “insubordination” 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). insubordination lands here:

#43,719

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 23 spelling variants around insubordination, anoun. Corpus frequency is #43,719 among 17,902 “I” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The quality or state of being insubordinate; disobedience to lawful authority; specifically, an employee's failure or refusal to comply with a request or an assignment given by his/her supervisor.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 23 likely wrong-spelling variants for insubordination, with forms such as "innsubordination", "insbuordination", and "inssubordination". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From in- + subordination, on the model of French insubordination. The correct English form is insubordination, spelled I-N-S-U-B-O-R-D-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

1
The quality or state of being insubordinate; disobedience to lawful authority; specifically, an employee's failure or refusal to comply with a request or an assignment given by his/her supervisor.

Etymology

From in- + subordination, on the model of French insubordination.

This word in other languages

insubordination(Français)Befehlsverweigerung(Deutsch)insubordinação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

innsubordination
insbuordination
inssubordination
insubbordination
insubodrination
insuborddination
insubordiantion
insubordinaiton
insubordinasion
insubordinatino
insubordinationn
insubordinatoin
insubordinattion
insubordinnation
insubordintaion
insubordniation
insuboridnation
insuborrdination
insubrodination
insuobrdination
inusbordination
isnubordination
nisubordination

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "insubordination"

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 "insubordination"?

"insubordination" is spelled I-N-S-U-B-O-R-D-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.

What does "insubordination" mean?

As a noun, "insubordination" means: The quality or state of being insubordinate; disobedience to lawful authority; specifically, an employee's failure or refusal to comply with a request or an assignment given by his/her supervisor.

What are common misspellings of "insubordination"?

Common misspellings include "innsubordination", "insbuordination", "inssubordination", "insubbordination", "insubodrination". The correct spelling is "insubordination".

What is the origin of the word "insubordination"?

From in- + subordination, on the model of French insubordination. 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 “insubordination”

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

The one correct English spelling is I-N-S-U-B-O-R-D-I-N-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.