labile
/ˈleɪbaɪl/
"labile" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“labile” is an uncommon English word, ranked #88,525 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #88,525
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | labile |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈleɪbaɪl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #88,525 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “labile” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for labile is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈleɪbaɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #88,525 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for labile, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin lābilis (“apt to slip, transient”), from lābor, lābī (“slip; glide, flow”). The correct English form is labile, spelled L-A-B-I-L-E.
Definition
- 1Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.
- 2Apt or likely to change.
- 3Kinetically unstable; rapidly cleaved (and possibly reformed).
- 4Able to change valency without changing its form; especially, able to be used both transitively and intransitively without changing its form.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin lābilis (“apt to slip, transient”), from lābor, lābī (“slip; glide, flow”).
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
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Using “labile”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-B-I-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈleɪbaɪl/ (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.