unread
/ˈʌn.ɹɛd/adjective, verb, noun
unread is spelled U-N-R-E-A-D: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,154th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unread means “Not having been read” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unread?
| Letters | 6: U-N-R-E-A-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 41,154th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is unread?
Unread appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,154th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unread?
- /ˈʌn.ɹɛd/
- /ˈʌn.ɹiːd/
Unread has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-unread.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with unread?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as unread.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: endura.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of unread
- unreads present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- unreading participle, present
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unread mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not having been read.
- 2
Not having read; uneducated.
verb
- 1
To undo the process of reading.
That book was terrible! I wish I could unread it.
- 2
To flag (a previously read e-mail or similar message) as not having been read.
noun
- 1
An unread email or instant message.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does unread come from?
From un- + read.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).