unborn
adjective, noun
unborn is spelled U-N-B-O-R-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unborn means “Not yet born; yet to come; future” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unborn?
| Letters | 6: U-N-B-O-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 17,813th 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 unborn?
Unborn appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th 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 unborn?
- US
Unborn has 2 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)-Flame,_not_lame-unborn.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unborn
- unborns plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unborn mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not yet born; yet to come; future.
- 2
Not yet delivered; still existing in the mother's womb.
- 3
Existing without birth or beginning.
noun
- 1
A single unborn offspring at any stage of gestation.
- 2
Unborn offspring collectively.
Inheritance law allows property to be left to the unborn.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unborn in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 unborn come from?
From Middle English unborn, from Old English unboren, from Proto-Germanic *unburanaz. Equivalent to un- + born.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).