irrespirable
/ɪɹɪˈspaɪɹəb(ə)l/
"irrespirable" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“irrespirable” 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 May 6, 2026) - Not respirable; not suitable for breathing; unbreathable.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | irrespirable |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪɹɪˈspaɪɹəb(ə)l/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “irrespirable” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
irrespirable is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɪɹɪˈspaɪɹəb(ə)l/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Not respirable; not suitable for breathing; unbreathable.".
irrespirable has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Either: * from ir- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + respirable; or * borrowed from French irrespirable, from Late Latin irrespīrābilis, from Latin ir- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + respīrāre + -ābilis (suffix meaning ‘able to be’). Respīrāre is the pr… The correct English form is irrespirable, spelled I-R-R-E-S-P-I-R-A-B-L-E.
Definition
- 1Not respirable; not suitable for breathing; unbreathable.
Etymology
Either: * from ir- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + respirable; or * borrowed from French irrespirable, from Late Latin irrespīrābilis, from Latin ir- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + respīrāre + -ābilis (suffix meaning ‘able to be’). Respīrāre is the present active infinitive of respīrō (“to blow or breathe back; to breathe, respire; to breathe out, exhale”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again; back, backwards’) + spīrō (“to blow; to breathe, respire; to breathe out, exhale”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow; to breathe”)).
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “irrespirable”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-R-R-E-S-P-I-R-A-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪɹɪˈspaɪɹəb(ə)l/ (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
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.