unfriendly
/ʌnˈfɹɛn(d)li/adjective, noun, adverb
unfriendly is spelled U-N-F-R-I-E-N-D-L-Y: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unfriendly means “Not friendly; hostile; mean” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unfriendly?
| Letters | 10: U-N-F-R-I-E-N-D-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th 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 unfriendly?
Unfriendly appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th 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 unfriendly?
- /ʌnˈfɹɛn(d)li/
Unfriendly has 3 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: En-us-unfriendly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unfriendly
- unfriendlier comparative
- more unfriendly comparative
- unfriendliest superlative
- most unfriendly superlative
- unfriendlies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unfriendly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not friendly; hostile; mean.
- 2
Unfavourable.
noun
- 1
An enemy.
adverb
- 1
in an unkind or unfriendly manner; not as a friend
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unfriendly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inamical |
| German | unfreundlich |
| Portuguese | hostil, antipático |
| Spanish | antipático, desagradable, hostil , desfavorable, negativo |
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 unfriendly come from?
From Middle English unfrendly, unfrendli, unfrendely, from Old English *unfrēondlīċ (suggested by derivative unfrēondlīċe (“in an unfriendly manner; unfriendly”, adverb)), equivalent to un- + friendly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uunfrüntelk, uunfjuntelk (“unfriendly”), West Frisian ûnfreonlik (“unfriendly”), Dutch onvriendelijk (“unfriendly”), German Low German unfrünnelk (“unfriendly”), German unfreundlich (“unfriendly”), Faroese ófryntligur (“unfriendly”), Icelandic ófrýnilegur (“ugly; disturbing”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).