unbelievably
adverb
unbelievably is spelled U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-Y: 12 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, unbelievably means “In a manner that one does not or cannot believe” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unbelievably?
| Letters | 12: U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,687th 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 unbelievably?
Unbelievably appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th 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 unbelievably?
Unbelievably 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-unbelievably.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unbelievably
- more unbelievably comparative
- most unbelievably superlative
- unbelievablely
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unbelievably mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a manner that one does not or cannot believe.
He gestured unbelievably. Everyone knew he was faking his illness.
- 2
To an extent not to be believed.
His face turned unbelievably blue. We realized he was actually choking.
- 3
Contrary to expectations, amazingly.
Unbelievably, Rudy saved the man's life but got sued for breaking two of his ribs.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unbelievably in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | incroyablement , extrêmement, très |
| German | unglaublich, unglaubwürdig , wunderbarweise |
| Portuguese | inacreditavelmente |
| Spanish | increíblemente |
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 unbelievably come from?
From unbelievable + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).