non-governmental

adj

"non-governmental" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“non-governmental” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not belonging to, associated with or operated by a particular government.

Key facts for non-governmental
PropertyValue
Headwordnon-governmental
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “non-governmental” sits in English frequency

non-governmental falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for non-governmental is 16 letters long, classified as an adjective. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Not belonging to, associated with or operated by a particular government.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for non-governmental, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From non- + governmental. The correct English form is non-governmental, spelled N-O-N---G-O-V-E-R-N-M-E-N-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not belonging to, associated with or operated by a particular government.

Etymology

From non- + governmental.

Antonyms

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

How do you spell "non-governmental"?
"non-governmental" is spelled N-O-N---G-O-V-E-R-N-M-E-N-T-A-L.
What does "non-governmental" mean?
As an adjective, "non-governmental" means: Not belonging to, associated with or operated by a particular government.
What is the origin of the word "non-governmental"?
From non- + governmental. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “non-governmental”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is N-O-N---G-O-V-E-R-N-M-E-N-T-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list