unethical
/ʌnˈɛθɪkəl/adjective
unethical is spelled U-N-E-T-H-I-C-A-L: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unethical means “Breaching the established standards of conduct or behavior within a particular organization or profession” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unethical?
| Letters | 9: U-N-E-T-H-I-C-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th 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 unethical?
Unethical appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th 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 unethical?
- /ʌnˈɛθɪkəl/
Unethical has 4 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-unethical.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unethical
- more unethical comparative
- most unethical superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unethical mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Breaching the established standards of conduct or behavior within a particular organization or profession.
He was sacked for unethical conduct.
- 2
Immoral, morally wrong.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does unethical come from?
From un- + ethical.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).