nonlethal
"nonlethal" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nonlethal” is uncommon English (frequency #77,962 among 24,391 “N” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #77,962
- frequency rank, English
- 24,391
- “N” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Alternative form of non-lethal.
Corpus desk
Index EN-nonlethal · nonlethal · English
nonlethal · rank #77,962 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #77,962
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 24,391
- PHOTO-FINISH Nishida
Nearest frequency peer: Nishida (-2 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “nonlethal”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Nees
Nees
22,047 corpus weight
- Neustadt
Neustadt
22,046 corpus weight
- Nishida
Nishida
22,041 corpus weight
- nonlethal
nonlethal
22,039 corpus weight
- NSAID
NSAID
22,035 corpus weight
- objectivism
objectivism
22,030 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “nonlethal” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nonlethal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #77,962 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “nonlethal” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
nonlethal is uncommon English at frequency #77,962 among 24,391 “N” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Alternative form of non-lethal.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for nonlethal, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From non- + lethal. The correct English form is nonlethal, spelled N-O-N-L-E-T-H-A-L.
Definition
- 1Alternative form of non-lethal.
Etymology
From non- + lethal.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "nonlethal"?
What does "nonlethal" mean?
What is the origin of the word "nonlethal"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nonlethal", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency 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.