irrefragable
/ɪˈɹɛfɹəɡəb(ə)l/
"irrefragable" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“irrefragable” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Which cannot be refuted; clearly right, incontrovertible, indisputable, irrefutable.
Corpus desk
Index EN-irrefragable · irrefragable · English
irrefragable · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "I" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | irrefragable |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪˈɹɛfɹəɡəb(ə)l/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “irrefragable” in English
Rare enough to double-check
irrefragable is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɪˈɹɛfɹəɡəb(ə)l/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for irrefragable in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Late Latin irrefrāgābilis (“irrefragable”) + English -able (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘able or fit to be done’). Irrefrāgābilis is derived from Latin ir- (variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + refrāgārī + -bilis (suf… The correct English form is irrefragable, spelled I-R-R-E-F-R-A-G-A-B-L-E.
Definition
- 1Which cannot be refuted; clearly right, incontrovertible, indisputable, irrefutable.
- 2Which cannot or should not be broken; indestructible.
- 3Of a person: obstinate, stubborn.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how irrefragable appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Beſide, what methodicall artiſt would allow the encomium of the foxe in the prayſe of the aſſe, unleſſe I would proove by irrefragable demonſtration, that the falſe fox was a true aſſe: as I once heard a learned phyſician affirme, if a gooſe were a fox, he was a fox.
He knew what's what, and that's as high / As Metaphysick Wit can fly, / In School Divinity as able / As he that hight Irrefragable; […]
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin irrefrāgābilis (“irrefragable”) + English -able (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘able or fit to be done’). Irrefrāgābilis is derived from Latin ir- (variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + refrāgārī + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon); while refrāgārī is the present active infinitive of refrāgor (“to oppose, resist; to gainsay, thwart”) (further etymology uncertain, possibly from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + fragor (“a breaking, shattering; a crash; din, uproar”) (from frangō (“to break, shatter”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”))), formed as an antonym of suffrāgōr, the first-person singular present passive indicative of suffrāgō (“to support; to vote for”).
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.