unintelligible
/ˌʌnɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒɪbəl/
"unintelligible" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“unintelligible” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,384 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #36,384
- frequency rank, English
- 14
- letters
- 20
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not intelligible; unable to be understood.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | unintelligible |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌʌnɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒɪbəl/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Frequency rank | #36,384 |
| Misspellings tracked | 20 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “unintelligible” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for unintelligible is 14 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌʌnɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒɪbəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,384 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Not intelligible; unable to be understood.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for unintelligible, with forms such as "nuintelligible", "uinntelligible", and "uninetlligible". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From un- + intelligible. The correct English form is unintelligible, spelled U-N-I-N-T-E-L-L-I-G-I-B-L-E.
Definition
- 1Not intelligible; unable to be understood.
Etymology
From un- + intelligible.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: nuintelligible,uinntelligible,uninetlligible,uninntelligible,uninteligible,unintelilgible,unintellgiible,unintelligable,unintelligbile,unintelliggible,unintelligibble,unintelligibel,unintelligiblle,unintelligilbe,unintelliigble,unintleligible,uninttelligible,unitnelligible,unnintelligible,unnitelligible
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of unintelligible - 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 “unintelligible”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-N-I-N-T-E-L-L-I-G-I-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌʌnɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒɪbəl/ (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.