undesirable
/ˌʌndɪˈzaɪɹəbəl/
"undesirable" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“undesirable” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #18,211 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #18,211
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not desirable, objectionable or not likely to please.
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 | undesirable |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌʌndɪˈzaɪɹəbəl/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #18,211 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “undesirable” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for undesirable is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌʌndɪˈzaɪɹəbəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,211 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Not desirable, objectionable or not likely to please.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for undesirable, with forms such as "nudesirable", "udnesirable", and "unddesirable". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "undeniable", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From un- + desirable. The correct English form is undesirable, spelled U-N-D-E-S-I-R-A-B-L-E.
Definition
- 1Not desirable, objectionable or not likely to please.
Etymology
From un- + desirable.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: nudesirable,udnesirable,unddesirable,undeisrable,undesiarble,undesirabble,undesirabel,undesirablle,undesiralbe,undesirbale,undesirible,undesirrable,undesriable,undessirable,undseirable,unedsirable,unndesirable
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of undesirable - 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 "undesirable"?
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Using “undesirable”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-N-D-E-S-I-R-A-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌʌndɪˈzaɪɹəbəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “undeniable” - see the side-by-side comparison. undesirable vs undeniable
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.