unhealthy
/ʌnˈhɛl.θi/
"unhealthy" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“unhealthy” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,959 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #10,959
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - characterized by, or conducive to poor health
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | unhealthy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #10,959 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “unhealthy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for unhealthy is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,959 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for unhealthy, with forms such as "nuhealthy", "uhnealthy", and "unehalthy". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, 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- + healthy. The correct English form is unhealthy, spelled U-N-H-E-A-L-T-H-Y.
Definition
- 1characterized by, or conducive to poor health
- 2sick or ill
- 3tending to corrupt
- 4characterized by disturbed mental health
Etymology
From un- + healthy.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: nuhealthy,uhnealthy,unehalthy,unhaelthy,unhealhty,unheallthy,unhealthhy,unhealthyy,unhealtthy,unhealtyh,unheatlhy,unhelathy,unhhealthy,unnhealthy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of unhealthy - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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
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Using “unhealthy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-N-H-E-A-L-T-H-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.