unethically

adv

"unethically" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“unethically” is uncommon English (frequency #97,665 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,665
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In an unethical manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-unethically · unethically · English

unethically · rank #97,665 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #97,665
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH underfed

Nearest frequency peer: underfed (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “unethically”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “unethically” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for unethically
PropertyValue
Headwordunethically
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters11
Frequency rank#97,665
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “unethically” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).unethicallyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “underfed” (#97,664), “UNIVAC” (#97,666), “unburden” (#97,663). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “unethically” is #97,665. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

unethically is uncommon English at frequency #97,665 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In an unethical manner.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for unethically in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From unethical + -ly. The correct English form is unethically, spelled U-N-E-T-H-I-C-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In an unethical manner.

Etymology

From unethical + -ly.

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 "unethically"?
"unethically" is spelled U-N-E-T-H-I-C-A-L-L-Y.
What does "unethically" mean?
As an adverb, "unethically" means: In an unethical manner.
What is the origin of the word "unethically"?
From unethical + -ly. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "unethically", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list