ungodly

/ʌnˈɡɒdli/

//ʌnˈɡɒdli// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ungodly" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ungodly” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,638. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,638
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of a person: lacking reverence for God; of an action: not in accordance with God's will or religious teachings.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ungodly · ungodly · English

ungodly · rank #32,638 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #32,638
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH unfathomable

Nearest frequency peer: unfathomable (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “ungodly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “ungodly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ungodly vs unholy
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ungodly
PropertyValue
Headwordungodly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ʌnˈɡɒdli/
Letters7
Frequency rank#32,638
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ungodly”

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).ungodlylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “unfathomable” (#32,637), “unprofitable” (#32,639), “uneventful” (#32,636). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “ungodly” is #32,638. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around ungodly (IPA /ʌnˈɡɒdli/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #32,638 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for ungodly, with forms such as "nugodly", "ugnodly", and "ungdoly". 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, "unholy", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ungodli [and other forms], from un- (prefix meaning ‘not’), + godli (“belonging to God; resembling God, godlike”). Godli is derived from Old English godlīċ (“divine, godlike; godly”), from god (“god”) + -līċ (“suffix forming adjectives m… The correct English form is ungodly, spelled U-N-G-O-D-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a person: lacking reverence for God; of an action: not in accordance with God's will or religious teachings.
  2. 2
    Immoral, sinful, or wicked.
  3. 3
    Extreme; unreasonable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ungodly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. They ſay You are a ſpot among Chriſtians; and that Religion fareth the worſe for your ungodly converſation, that ſome have already ſtumbled at your wicked ways, and that more are in danger of being deſtroyed thereby; your Religion, and an Ale-Houſe, and Covetouſneſs, and uncleanneſs, and ſwearing, and lying, and vain-Company-keeping, &c., will ſtand toget…
  2. [...] Calvinism gave a much more radical development to its Law of Nature. It successfully established the principle of the right of resistance, which must be exercised on behalf of the word of God in the face of ungodly authorities, [...]

Etymology

From Middle English ungodli [and other forms], from un- (prefix meaning ‘not’), + godli (“belonging to God; resembling God, godlike”). Godli is derived from Old English godlīċ (“divine, godlike; godly”), from god (“god”) + -līċ (“suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘characteristic of, pertaining to’”). The English word may be analysed as un- + godly, and is cognate with Middle Dutch ongodelijc (modern Dutch ongoddelijk), Middle High German ungötlich (modern German ungöttlich), Old Norse óguðligr (“ungodly”) (Danish ugudelig, Icelandic óguðlegur), Swedish ogudlig.

This word in other languages

impío(Español)impie(Français)unchristlich(Deutsch)ímpio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nugodly
  • ugnodly
  • ungdoly
  • unggodly
  • ungoddly
  • ungodlly
  • ungodlyy
  • ungodyl
  • ungoldy
  • unngodly
  • unogdly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ungodly - 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.

nugodly2ugnodly2ungdoly2unggodly1ungoddly1ungodlly1ungodlyy1ungodyl2
Edit distance from "ungodly"

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 "ungodly"?
"ungodly" is spelled U-N-G-O-D-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ʌnˈɡɒdli/.
What does "ungodly" mean?
As an adjective, "ungodly" means: Of a person: lacking reverence for God; of an action: not in accordance with God's will or religious teachings.
What words are commonly confused with "ungodly"?
"ungodly" is commonly confused with "unholy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ungodly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ungodly" is /ʌnˈɡɒdli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ungodly"?
From Middle English ungodli [and other forms], from un- (prefix meaning ‘not’), + godli (“belonging to God; resembling God, godlike”). Godli is derived from Old English godlīċ (“divine, godlike; godly”), from god (“god”) + -līċ (“suffix forming ad... 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 "ungodly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

undying#32,634TriBeCa#32,627yellows#32,659zooming#32,663

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

aggrieved11 variantssetlist11 variantsSeminole11 variantsbereaved11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list