ungrammatical

adj

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

"ungrammatical" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ungrammatical” is uncommon English (frequency #95,559 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#95,559
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In violation of one or more of the rules and conventions of a language as defined by the grammar, resulting in unacceptable or incorrect usage.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ungrammatical · ungrammatical · English

ungrammatical · rank #95,559 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #95,559
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH underpayment

Nearest frequency peer: underpayment (-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 “ungrammatical”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ungrammatical
PropertyValue
Headwordungrammatical
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters13
Frequency rank#95,559
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ungrammatical” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ungrammaticalfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “underpayment” (#95,558), “unibrow” (#95,560), “underachiever” (#95,557). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “ungrammatical” is #95,559. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ungrammatical is uncommon English at frequency #95,559 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In violation of one or more of the rules and conventions of a language as defined by the grammar, resulting in unacceptable or incorrect usage.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for ungrammatical, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From un- + grammatical. The correct English form is ungrammatical, spelled U-N-G-R-A-M-M-A-T-I-C-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    In violation of one or more of the rules and conventions of a language as defined by the grammar, resulting in unacceptable or incorrect usage.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. My Greek is not the tongue of Homer or Aeschylus but a sloppy ungrammatical sabir lacking Attic salt and tending to a saccharinity which sets my teeth on edge.
  2. That comment seemed to anger Ingraham, who called James’ view a “barely intelligible, not to mention ungrammatical take on President Trump.”

Etymology

From un- + grammatical.

This word in other languages

agramatical(Español)agrammatical(Français)ungrammatisch(Deutsch)

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 "ungrammatical"?
"ungrammatical" is spelled U-N-G-R-A-M-M-A-T-I-C-A-L.
What does "ungrammatical" mean?
As an adjective, "ungrammatical" means: In violation of one or more of the rules and conventions of a language as defined by the grammar, resulting in unacceptable or incorrect usage.
What is the origin of the word "ungrammatical"?
From un- + grammatical. 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 "ungrammatical", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

underachiever#95,557unconditioned#95,556threateningly#95,514tetrachloride#95,508

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list