intemperate

adj

"intemperate" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“intemperate” is uncommon English (frequency #75,078 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,078
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lacking moderation, temper or control.

Corpus desk

Index EN-intemperate · intemperate · English

intemperate · rank #75,078 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,078
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH insubordinate

Nearest frequency peer: insubordinate (-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 “intemperate”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for intemperate
PropertyValue
Headwordintemperate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters11
Frequency rank#75,078
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “intemperate” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).intemperatefalls 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: “insubordinate” (#75,077), “interspecies” (#75,079), “inseam” (#75,075). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “intemperate” is #75,078. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

intemperate is uncommon English at frequency #75,078 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for intemperate, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From in- + temperate. The correct English form is intemperate, spelled I-N-T-E-M-P-E-R-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lacking moderation, temper or control.
  2. 2
    Indulging any appetite or passion to excess, especially the drinking of alcohol.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. intemperate language
  2. intemperate zeal

Etymology

From in- + temperate.

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

How do you spell "intemperate"?
"intemperate" is spelled I-N-T-E-M-P-E-R-A-T-E.
What does "intemperate" mean?
As an adjective, "intemperate" means: Lacking moderation, temper or control.
What is the origin of the word "intemperate"?
From in- + temperate. 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 "intemperate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list