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PlainSpell

irresponsible

/ˌɪɹ.əˈspɑn.sə.bəl/adjective, noun

irresponsible is spelled I-R-R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-L-E: 13 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, irresponsible means “Lacking a sense of responsibility; performed or acting as though without responsibility; negligent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in irresponsible?

Letters13: I-R-R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-L-E
Syllables5 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing4.7 times per million words; the 11,685th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is irresponsible?

Irresponsible appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce irresponsible?

  • UK /ˌɪɹ.ɪˈspɒn.sə.bəl/
  • US /ˌɪɹ.əˈspɑn.sə.bəl/
  • Australia /ˌɪɹ.ɪˈspɔn.sə.bəl/

Irresponsible has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Jjamesryan-irresponsible.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with irresponsible?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as irresponsible from its last stressed vowel (/ɑnsəbəl/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of irresponsible

  • more irresponsible comparative
  • most irresponsible superlative
  • irresponsibles plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does irresponsible mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    archaicNot responsible; exempt from legal responsibility, not to be held accountable.

  2. 2

    Lacking a sense of responsibility; performed or acting as though without responsibility; negligent.

noun

  1. 1

    Someone who is not responsible.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Irresponsible in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchirresponsable (not responsible; not subject to responsibility)
Germannicht verantwortlich (not responsible; not subject to responsibility), verantwortungslos, unverantwortlich (lacking a sense of responsibility)
Portugueseirresponsável (not responsible; not subject to responsibility)
Spanishirresponsable (not responsible; not subject to responsibility)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does irresponsible come from?

From ir- + responsible.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after irresponsible