Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

unlief

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
un-lief
IPA
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Not dear or beloved; unliked; unpleasant, hateful.

Archaic

Etymology

From Middle English unleeffe, unlef, from Old English unlēof (“not dear, not beloved, odious, hateful”), from Proto-West Germanic *unleub (“unloved, unpleasant”), from Proto-Germanic *unleubaz (“not dear, unpleasant”). By surface analysis, un- + lief. Cognate with Dutch onlief, German unlieb, Icelandic óljúfur (“unpleasant”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: unleeffe, unlēof, *unleub, *unleubaz

Usage

Inflected Forms

more unlief (comparative) most unlief (superlative)

Questions

What does unlief mean?
Not dear or beloved; unliked; unpleasant, hateful.
Where does unlief come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce unlief

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “unlief”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “unlief”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “unlief” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.