unacceptable
/ˌʌn.ækˈsɛp.tə.bl̩/adjective, noun
unacceptable is spelled U-N-A-C-C-E-P-T-A-B-L-E: 12 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unacceptable means “Unsatisfactory; not acceptable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unacceptable?
| Letters | 12: U-N-A-C-C-E-P-T-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.4 times per million words; the 8,669th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is unacceptable?
Unacceptable appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unacceptable?
- UK /ˌʌn.ækˈsɛp.tə.bl̩/
- UK /ˌʌn.əkˈsɛp.tə.bl̩/
- UK [ˌɐn.ækˈsɛp.tə.bɫ̩]
Unacceptable has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-unacceptable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unacceptable
- more unacceptable comparative
- most unacceptable superlative
- unacceptables plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unacceptable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Unsatisfactory; not acceptable.
- 2
Not conforming to accepted usage.
noun
- 1
Something that is not acceptable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unacceptable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense unsatisfactory; not acceptable:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inacceptable, inadmissible |
| German | inakzeptabel |
| Portuguese | inaceitável |
| Spanish | inaceptable, no ser de recibo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unacceptable come from?
From Middle English unacceptabylle, equivalent to un- + acceptable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).