not at all

[ˈnɑɾəˈɾɔɫ]

/[ˈnɑɾəˈɾɔɫ]/ adv

"not-at-all" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“not at all” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not even a tiny bit; not in any way.

Corpus desk

Index EN-not-at-all · not at all · English

not at all · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "N" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for not at all
PropertyValue
Headwordnot at all
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[ˈnɑɾəˈɾɔɫ]
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “not at all” in English

not at allranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

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

Rare enough to double-check

not at all is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed [ˈnɑɾəˈɾɔɫ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Not even a tiny bit; not in any way.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for not at all, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is not at all, spelled N-O-T- -A-T- -A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not even a tiny bit; not in any way.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how not at all appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He's not at all friendly towards his ex-wife.
  2. Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "not at all"?
"not at all" is spelled N-O-T- -A-T- -A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈnɑɾəˈɾɔɫ].
What does "not at all" mean?
As an adverb, "not at all" means: Not even a tiny bit; not in any way.
How do you pronounce "not at all"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "not at all" is [ˈnɑɾəˈɾɔɫ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "not at all" come from?
"not at all" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list