unclean
/ʌnˈkliːn/
"unclean" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“unclean” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,012. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #27,012
- frequency rank, English
- 1,433
- “U” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Dirty, soiled or foul.
Corpus desk
Index EN-unclean · unclean · English
unclean · rank #27,012 · 10 variants · 2 confusables
- FREQ-MID #27,012
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
- VAR-MID 10 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,433
- PHOTO-FINISH unequivocally
Nearest frequency peer: unequivocally (+1 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 “unclean”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- truffle
truffle
72,992 corpus weight
- tumultuous
tumultuous
72,991 corpus weight
- unclean
unclean
72,989 corpus weight
- unequivocal…
unequivocally
72,988 corpus weight
- unitary
unitary
72,987 corpus weight
- USGS
USGS
72,986 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “unclean” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | unclean |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ʌnˈkliːn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #27,012 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “unclean” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around unclean (IPA /ʌnˈkliːn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #27,012 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for unclean, with forms such as "nuclean", "ucnlean", and "uncclean". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "unclear", "uncle", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English unclene, from Old English unclǣne, equivalent to un- + clean. The correct English form is unclean, spelled U-N-C-L-E-A-N.
Definition
- 1Dirty, soiled or foul.
- 2Not moral or chaste.
- 3Ritually or ceremonially impure or unfit.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how unclean appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
They were gnawing, like beasts, upon unclean food. A pot boiled upon the edge of the fire, and out of it one of the creatures would occasionally drag a hunk of meat with a sharpened stick.
I stand amazed in the presence / Of Jesus, the Nazarene, / And wonder how He could love me, / A sinner, condemend, unclean.
Etymology
From Middle English unclene, from Old English unclǣne, equivalent to un- + clean.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- nuclean
- ucnlean
- uncclean
- uncelan
- unclaen
- uncleann
- unclena
- uncllean
- unlcean
- unnclean
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of unclean - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "unclean"?
What does "unclean" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "unclean", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "unclean". Here's where to go from here.
- "unclean" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "unclear". View pair
- 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #27,012 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "U" letter cohort. U–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.