unkindly
/ʌnˈkaɪndli/
"unkindly" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“unkindly” is uncommon English (frequency #96,616 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #96,616
- frequency rank, English
- 1,433
- “U” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not kindly.
Corpus desk
Index EN-unkindly · unkindly · English
unkindly · rank #96,616 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #96,616
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,433
- PHOTO-FINISH ungraded
Nearest frequency peer: ungraded (-2 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 “unkindly”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- unglazed
unglazed
3,388 corpus weight
- ungraded
ungraded
3,387 corpus weight
- unkindly
unkindly
3,385 corpus weight
- unobservable
unobservable
3,383 corpus weight
- unselfishly
unselfishly
3,382 corpus weight
- unsexy
unsexy
3,381 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “unkindly” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | unkindly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ʌnˈkaɪndli/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #96,616 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “unkindly” in English
Rare enough to double-check
unkindly is uncommon English at frequency #96,616 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ʌnˈkaɪndli/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for unkindly, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English unkyndely, from Old English unġecyndelīċ; equivalent to un- + kindly (adjective). The correct English form is unkindly, spelled U-N-K-I-N-D-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Not kindly.
- 2Not kindly.
- 3Not kindly.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how unkindly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Preceded by the beadle, and attended by an irregular procession of stern-browed men and unkindly visaged women, Hester Prynne set forth towards the place appointed for her punishment.
[…] she had seen a not unkindly wink pass between the two.
Etymology
From Middle English unkyndely, from Old English unġecyndelīċ; equivalent to un- + kindly (adjective).
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "unkindly", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).