Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

unclean

/ʌnˈkliːn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.06 in modern English

Syllables: un-clean
IPA: /ʌnˈkliːn/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Dirty, soiled or foul.

adj

Not moral or chaste.

adj

Ritually or ceremonially impure or unfit.

Example Sentences

"They were gnawing, like beasts, upon unclean food. A pot boiled upon the edge of the fire, and out of it one of the creatures would occasionally drag a hunk of meat with a sharpened stick."
"I stand amazed in the presence / Of Jesus, the Nazarene, / And wonder how He could love me, / A sinner, condemend, unclean."

Etymology

From Middle English unclene, from Old English unclǣne, equivalent to un- + clean.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: unclene, unclǣne

Inflected Forms

uncleaner (comparative) uncleanest (superlative)

Derived Forms

uncleanly uncleanness

Phrases

unclean hands

Frequently Paired Words

corrupt defiled despicable

Synonyms

befouled besmirched clarty cruddy dirtsome dirty foul grotty grubby horry icky lousy

Antonyms

clean

Rhymes With

between mean seen green clean scene machine queen screen marine dean routine

Questions

How do you pronounce unclean?: The recorded pronunciation is /ʌnˈkliːn/.
What does unclean mean?: Dirty, soiled or foul.
Where does unclean come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce unclean

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