ungainly
/ʌnˈɡeɪnli/
"ungainly" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ungainly” is uncommon English (frequency #58,434 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #58,434
- frequency rank, English
- 1,433
- “U” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Clumsy; lacking grace.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ungainly · ungainly · English
ungainly · rank #58,434 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #58,434
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,433
- PHOTO-FINISH underscoring
Nearest frequency peer: underscoring (-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 “ungainly”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- TSR
TSR
41,573 corpus weight
- tweens
tweens
41,572 corpus weight
- unadorned
unadorned
41,570 corpus weight
- underscoring
underscoring
41,568 corpus weight
- ungainly
ungainly
41,567 corpus weight
- uninstalled
uninstalled
41,566 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “ungainly” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ungainly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ʌnˈɡeɪnli/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #58,434 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ungainly” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
ungainly is uncommon English at frequency #58,434 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ʌnˈɡeɪnli/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
ungainly doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From un- (“not”) + gainly (“graceful; becoming; proper, suitable; gracious, kindly”) (from gain (“dexterous; convenient, easy, handy; suitable”), from Old Norse gegn (“fit, serviceable; direct, straight; honest; kindly”) + -ly (suffix forming adjectives fro… The correct English form is ungainly, spelled U-N-G-A-I-N-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Clumsy; lacking grace.
- 2Difficult to move or to manage; unwieldy.
- 3Unsuitable; unprofitable.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ungainly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
They being a very ſilly ſort of People, had no other way to ſhew their Spight and Reſentment, than by making Mouths at the Dutch as they paſſed by, and ſometimes Spitting upon them. To break them of that ungainly Cuſtom, we made a reſolution amongſt us, never to let any paſs by that did ſo, whether Old or Young, Man or Woman, without giving them a good Bo…
When the young scholar [Samuel Johnson] presented himself to the rulers of that society, they were amazed not more by his ungainly figure and eccentric manners than by the quantity of extensive and curious information which he had picked up during many months of desultory, but not unprofitable study.
Etymology
From un- (“not”) + gainly (“graceful; becoming; proper, suitable; gracious, kindly”) (from gain (“dexterous; convenient, easy, handy; suitable”), from Old Norse gegn (“fit, serviceable; direct, straight; honest; kindly”) + -ly (suffix forming adjectives from nouns)). Compare dialectal Norwegian Nynorsk ugjegnleg (“stubborn; troublesome”).
This word in other languages
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ungainly", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
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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.