unwonted
/ʌnˈwɑntɪd/
"unwonted" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“unwonted” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not customary or habitual; unusual; infrequent; strange.
Corpus desk
Index EN-unwonted · unwonted · English
unwonted · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | unwonted |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ʌnˈwɑntɪd/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “unwonted” in English
Rare enough to double-check
unwonted is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ʌnˈwɑntɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for unwonted, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From un- + wonted. Redundant in form, as wont is by itself historically the participle adjective. Largely displaced earlier unwont. The correct English form is unwonted, spelled U-N-W-O-N-T-E-D.
Definition
- 1Not customary or habitual; unusual; infrequent; strange.
- 2Unused (to); unaccustomed (to) something.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how unwonted appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Be of comfort; / My father's of a better nature, sir, / Than he appears by speech: this is unwonted, / Which now came from him.
After the first flutter of conscious delight which his entrance had caused, she was able to talk to him cheerfully, and her spirits rose with the unwonted enjoyment.
Etymology
From un- + wonted. Redundant in form, as wont is by itself historically the participle adjective. Largely displaced earlier unwont.
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.