unwittingly

/ʌnˈwɪtɪŋli/

//ʌnˈwɪtɪŋli// adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"unwittingly" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“unwittingly” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,649. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,649
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In an unwitting manner; inadvertently, obliviously, unintentionally, unknowingly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-unwittingly · unwittingly · English

unwittingly · rank #26,649 · 16 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,649
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH unscrupulous

Nearest frequency peer: unscrupulous (-1 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “unwittingly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “unwittingly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

unwittingly vs unwitting
82% similar
unwittingly vs unwillingly
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for unwittingly
PropertyValue
Headwordunwittingly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ʌnˈwɪtɪŋli/
Letters11
Frequency rank#26,649
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “unwittingly”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).unwittinglylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “unscrupulous” (#26,648), “upland” (#26,650), “unregulated” (#26,647). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “unwittingly” is #26,649. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around unwittingly (IPA /ʌnˈwɪtɪŋli/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #26,649 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In an unwitting manner; inadvertently, obliviously, unintentionally, unknowingly.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for unwittingly, with forms such as "nuwittingly", "uniwttingly", and "unnwittingly". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "unwitting", "unwillingly", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English on-wytyngly, un-wetandly, unweteynglye, unwetinglie, un-wetinglye, unwetyngly, unwitandly, unwitendely, unwitingly, unwittandly, unwityngli, unwityngly, unwytyngeleche, unwytyngli, equivalent to unwitting + -ly or un- + wittingly. The correct English form is unwittingly, spelled U-N-W-I-T-T-I-N-G-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In an unwitting manner; inadvertently, obliviously, unintentionally, unknowingly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She realized to her horror that she had unwittingly helped those people she most despised.
  2. This morning, / Paprs of State he ſent me, to peruſe / As I required: and wot you what I found / There (on my Conſcience put vnwittingly) […]

Etymology

From Middle English on-wytyngly, un-wetandly, unweteynglye, unwetinglie, un-wetinglye, unwetyngly, unwitandly, unwitendely, unwitingly, unwittandly, unwityngli, unwityngly, unwytyngeleche, unwytyngli, equivalent to unwitting + -ly or un- + wittingly.

This word in other languages

sin querer(Español)involontairement(Français)unbeabsichtigt(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nuwittingly
  • uniwttingly
  • unnwittingly
  • unwitingly
  • unwititngly
  • unwittignly
  • unwittinggly
  • unwittinglly
  • unwittinglyy
  • unwittingyl
  • unwittinlgy
  • unwittinngly
  • unwittnigly
  • unwtitingly
  • unwwittingly
  • uwnittingly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of unwittingly - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

nuwittingly2uniwttingly2unnwittingly1unwitingly1unwititngly2unwittignly2unwittinggly1unwittinglly1
Edit distance from "unwittingly"

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

How do you spell "unwittingly"?
"unwittingly" is spelled U-N-W-I-T-T-I-N-G-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ʌnˈwɪtɪŋli/.
What does "unwittingly" mean?
As an adverb, "unwittingly" means: In an unwitting manner; inadvertently, obliviously, unintentionally, unknowingly.
What words are commonly confused with "unwittingly"?
"unwittingly" is commonly confused with "unwitting", "unwillingly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "unwittingly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "unwittingly" is /ʌnˈwɪtɪŋli/. 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 "unwittingly"?
From Middle English on-wytyngly, un-wetandly, unweteynglye, unwetinglie, un-wetinglye, unwetyngly, unwitandly, unwitendely, unwitingly, unwittandly, unwityngli, unwityngly, unwytyngeleche, unwytyngli, equivalent to unwitting + -ly or un- + wittingly. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "unwittingly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unregulated#26,647worshipping#26,662transponder#26,634testimonial#26,626

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

calligraphy16 variantspedagogical16 variantspathfinder16 variantsdistancing16 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list