unmannerly

/ʌnˈmænəli/

//ʌnˈmænəli// adj

"unmannerly" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“unmannerly” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not mannerly (“polite; having good manners”).

Corpus desk

Index EN-unmannerly · unmannerly · English

unmannerly · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "U" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for unmannerly
PropertyValue
Headwordunmannerly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ʌnˈmænəli/
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “unmannerly” in English

unmannerlyfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

unmannerly is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ʌnˈmænəli/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Not mannerly (“polite; having good manners”).".

No misspelling variants are generated for unmannerly in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English unmanerli (“of a person: disorderly, unruly; of conduct: inappropriate, improper”), from un- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + manerli, manerly (“well-mannered; modest; customary; moral”). Manerli is derived from maner (“kind, sort; form, nature;… The correct English form is unmannerly, spelled U-N-M-A-N-N-E-R-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not mannerly (“polite; having good manners”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. [T]he Dogge nuſling his noſe vnder the necke of the Deare, the Wolfe glad to let the Lambe lye vpon hym to kéepe him warme, the Lyon ſuffering the Aſſe to caſt hys legge ouer him: preferring one honeſt vnmannerly friende, before a number of croutching picke-thankes.
  2. I humbly do entreat your Highneſſe pardon, / My haſt made me vnmannerly.

Etymology

From Middle English unmanerli (“of a person: disorderly, unruly; of conduct: inappropriate, improper”), from un- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + manerli, manerly (“well-mannered; modest; customary; moral”). Manerli is derived from maner (“kind, sort; form, nature; circumstances; method, manner; outward behaviour, manners; morals; custom, usage; cause, reason”) (from Anglo-Norman, Old French manere (“fashion, manner, way”), from Latin manuārius (“of or pertaining to the hand”), from manus (“hand”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon”)) + -li (suffix forming adjectives). The English word is analysable as un- + mannerly, and is cognate with Danish umanerlig, German unmanierlich, Middle Dutch onmanierlijc (modern Dutch onmanierlijk), Swedish omanerlig, West Frisian ûnmanearlik.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "unmannerly"?
"unmannerly" is spelled U-N-M-A-N-N-E-R-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ʌnˈmænəli/.
What does "unmannerly" mean?
As an adjective, "unmannerly" means: Not mannerly (“polite; having good manners”).
How do you pronounce "unmannerly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "unmannerly" is /ʌnˈmænəli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "unmannerly"?
From Middle English unmanerli (“of a person: disorderly, unruly; of conduct: inappropriate, improper”), from un- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + manerli, manerly (“well-mannered; modest; customary; moral”). Manerli is derived from maner (“kind, sort; for... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
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Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list