nill
/nɪl/
"nill" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nill” is uncommon English (frequency #91,858 among 24,391 “N” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #91,858
- frequency rank, English
- 24,391
- “N” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To be unwilling; will not (+ infinitive).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nill |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /nɪl/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #91,858 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “nill” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
nill is uncommon English at frequency #91,858 among 24,391 “N” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /nɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for nill in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English nillen, from Old English nyllan (“to not want”), corresponding to ne + will. Cognate with Old Frisian nelle. Unrelated to Latin nolo which is constructed the same way, but the morphemes that compound both verbs are cognates. The correct English form is nill, spelled N-I-L-L.
Definition
- 1To be unwilling; will not (+ infinitive).
- 2To be unwilling.
- 3To reject, refuse, negate.
Etymology
From Middle English nillen, from Old English nyllan (“to not want”), corresponding to ne + will. Cognate with Old Frisian nelle. Unrelated to Latin nolo which is constructed the same way, but the morphemes that compound both verbs are cognates.
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 “nill”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-I-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /nɪl/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.