unwell
/ʌnˈwɛl/adjective
unwell is spelled U-N-W-E-L-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unwell means “Not in good health; not feeling well; somewhat ill” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unwell?
| Letters | 6: U-N-W-E-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 24,170th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is unwell?
Unwell appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th 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 unwell?
- /ʌnˈwɛl/
Unwell 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-unwell.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unwell
- more unwell comparative
- most unwell superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unwell mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not in good health; not feeling well; somewhat ill
feel unwell
- 2
datedSpecifically, ill from menstruation; affected with, or having, catamenial; menstruant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unwell in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense not well:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | indisposé, souffrant, malade, qui ne se sent pas bien |
| Spanish | indispuesto, hasta el queque, mal, enfermo, que no se encuentra bien |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unwell come from?
From un- + well.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).