ungovernable

adj

"ungovernable" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ungovernable” is an uncommon English word, ranked #70,361 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#70,361
frequency rank, English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not governable; unable to be governed.

Key facts for ungovernable
PropertyValue
Headwordungovernable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters12
Frequency rank#70,361
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ungovernable” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ungovernable lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for ungovernable is 12 letters long, classified as an adjective. Corpus data places it at rank #70,361 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for ungovernable, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From un- + governable. The correct English form is ungovernable, spelled U-N-G-O-V-E-R-N-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not governable; unable to be governed.
  2. 2
    Unable to be managed or controlled.

Etymology

From un- + governable.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ungovernable"?
"ungovernable" is spelled U-N-G-O-V-E-R-N-A-B-L-E.
What does "ungovernable" mean?
As an adjective, "ungovernable" means: Not governable; unable to be governed.
What is the origin of the word "ungovernable"?
From un- + governable. 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.

Using “ungovernable”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is U-N-G-O-V-E-R-N-A-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list