Commonly used words in written English - letter U with 147 words, sorted alphabetically
The list of words starting with the letter U that occur frequently in written English is based on an analysis of the Google Books Ngram (a collection compiled by Peter Norvig in 2012, containing close to one trillion words).
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Word Frequency is calculated as the number of occurrences in one million words.
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Word Definition is sourced from the WordNet dictionary. You'll have to look up each word page for its complete definition and Part of Speech (POS) categories.
| Word | Frequency | Definition |
|---|---|---|
59 | (adjective) (chiefly British) of or appropriate to the upper classes especially in language use; (noun) the 21st letter of the Roman alphabet | |
12 | (adjective) displeasing to the senses | |
22 | (noun) a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom | |
10 | (noun) a circumscribed inflammatory and often suppurating lesion on the skin or an internal mucous surface resulting in necrosis of tissue | |
38 | (adjective) furthest or highest in degree or order; utmost or extreme; (noun) the finest or most superior quality of its kind | |
39 | (adverb) as the end result of a succession or process | |
6 | (adjective) (used of opinions and actions) far beyond the norm | |
6 | (adjective) covering or applying simultaneously to a number of similar items or elements or groups; (noun) a lightweight handheld collapsible canopy | |
61 | (noun) an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security | |
56 | (adjective) (usually followed by 'to') not having the necessary means or skill or know-how | |
6 | (adjective) not acceptable; not welcome | |
6 | (adjective) acting together as a single undiversified whole | |
8 | (adjective) (often followed by 'of') not aware | |
22 | (adjective) lacking or indicating lack of confidence or assurance | |
29 | (noun) being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance | |
10 | (adjective) not made or become different | |
38 | (noun) the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt | |
7 | (adjective) not clear to the mind | |
10 | (adjective) conducive to or feeling mental discomfort | |
12 | (adjective) not common or ordinarily encountered; unusually great in amount or remarkable in character or kind | |
22 | (adjective) not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead | |
6 | (adverb) without awareness | |
6 | (adjective) not covered with clothing | |
787 | (preposition) below or lower, in place or position, with the idea of being covered; lower than; beneath; opposed to over; (adverb) down to defeat, death, or ruin | |
6 | (verb) make too low an estimate of; (noun) an estimation that is too low; an estimate that is less than the true or actual value | |
35 | (verb) pass through | |
9 | (noun) a university student who has not yet received a first degree | |
15 | (adverb) in or into hiding or secret operation; (noun) a secret group organized to overthrow a government or occupation force | |
6 | (verb) be or form the base for | |
7 | (verb) draw a line or lines underneath to call attention to | |
35 | (adjective) located beneath or below | |
16 | (verb) hollow out as if making a cave or opening | |
8 | (preposition) under; beneath; situated directly below; (adverb) on the lower or downward side; on the underside of | |
158 | (verb) know and comprehend the nature or meaning of | |
6 | (adjective) capable of being apprehended or understood | |
139 | (adjective) characterized by understanding based on comprehension and discernment and empathy; (noun) the cognitive condition of someone who understands | |
80 | (adjective) fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation | |
50 | (verb) enter upon an activity or enterprise | |
20 | (noun) any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted | |
8 | (adjective) not wanted; (noun) one whose presence is undesirable | |
28 | (adverb) without doubt; certainly | |
6 | (adjective) not yet payable | |
7 | (adjective) lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance | |
10 | (adjective) not engaged in a gainful occupation | |
27 | (noun) the state of being unemployed or not having a job | |
9 | (adjective) poorly balanced or matched in quantity or value or measure | |
5 | (adjective) not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture | |
18 | (adjective) not expected or anticipated | |
6 | (adverb) in a way that was not expected | |
10 | (adjective) not fair; marked by injustice or partiality or deception | |
7 | (adjective) not known or well known | |
5 | (adjective) not encouraging or approving or pleasing | |
5 | (adjective) not brought to the desired final state | |
5 | (adjective) below the required standards for a purpose | |
8 | (verb) open to the view | |
20 | (adjective) not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune; (noun) a person who suffers misfortune | |
38 | (adverb) by bad luck | |
16 | (adjective) experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent | |
6 | (noun) the state of being joined or united or linked | |
11 | (adjective) formed or united into a whole | |
48 | (verb) provide with uniforms; (adjective) always the same; showing a single form or character in all occurrences | |
9 | (noun) a condition in which everything is regular and unvarying | |
9 | (adverb) in a uniform manner | |
6 | (adjective) involving only one part or side | |
6 | (adjective) not important | |
210 | (adjective) of trade unions; (noun) an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer | |
50 | (adjective) highly unusual or rare but not the single instance | |
203 | (noun) an individual or group or structure or other entity regarded as a structural or functional constituent of a whole | |
14 | (verb) act in concert or unite in a common purpose or belief | |
370 | (adjective) characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity | |
52 | (noun) the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number | |
64 | (adjective) applicable to or common to all members of a group or set; (noun) (linguistics) a grammatical rule (or other linguistic feature) that is found in all languages | |
11 | (adverb) everywhere | |
41 | (noun) everything that exists anywhere | |
388 | (noun) the body of faculty and students at a university | |
10 | (adjective) violating principles of justice | |
56 | (adjective) not known; (noun) an unknown and unexplored region | |
7 | (adjective) contrary to or prohibited by or defiant of law | |
109 | (conjunction) except under the circumstances that | |
44 | (adjective) marked by dissimilarity | |
22 | (adjective) has little chance of being the case or coming about | |
10 | (adjective) having no limits in range or scope | |
6 | (adjective) not married or related to the unmarried state | |
6 | (adjective) not in accordance with or determined by nature; contrary to nature | |
20 | (adjective) not necessary | |
11 | (adjective) offensive or disagreeable; causing discomfort or unhappiness | |
7 | (adjective) having no precedent; novel | |
15 | (adjective) not published | |
9 | (adjective) not reasonable; not showing good judgment | |
7 | (adjective) lacking a logical or causal relation | |
5 | (noun) a feeling of restless agitation | |
7 | (adjective) not giving satisfaction | |
6 | (adjective) not seen or perceived | |
10 | (adjective) lacking stability or fixity or firmness | |
10 | (adjective) not successful; having failed or having an unfavorable outcome | |
358 | (preposition) used as a function word to indicate continuance (as of an action or condition) to a specified time; (conjunction) as far as; to the place or degree that; especially, up to the time that; till | |
37 | (adjective) not usual or common or ordinary | |
9 | (adverb) to a remarkable degree or extent | |
11 | (adjective) not disposed or inclined toward | |
7 | (adjective) lacking in value or merit | |
1,319 | (preposition) from a lower to a higher place on, upon, or along; at a higher situation upon; at the top of; (adverb) spatially or metaphorically from a lower to a higher position | |
20 | (verb) modernize or bring up to date; (noun) information or data that updates | |
7 | (verb) rate higher; raise in value or esteem; (noun) software that provides better performance than an earlier version did | |
14 | (verb) stand up for; stick up for; of causes, principles, or ideals | |
715 | (preposition) up and on, upward so as to get or be on, in an elevated position on | |
110 | (adjective) the topmost one of two; (noun) piece of leather or synthetic material that forms the part of a shoe or boot above the sole that encases the foot | |
12 | (adjective) in a vertical position; not sloping; (noun) a vertical structural member as a post or stake | |
6 | (noun) organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another | |
16 | (verb) disturb the balance or stability of; (adjective) mildly physically distressed | |
9 | (adverb) on a floor above; (adjective) on or of upper floors of a building | |
8 | (noun) a process of taking up or using up or consuming | |
21 | (adjective) directed up | |
12 | (adverb) spatially or metaphorically from a lower to a higher position | |
6 | (noun) a heavy toxic silvery-white radioactive metallic element; occurs in many isotopes; used for nuclear fuels and nuclear weapons | |
74 | (adjective) relating to or concerned with a city or densely populated area | |
44 | (verb) force or impel in an indicated direction; (noun) an instinctive motive | |
6 | (noun) the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity | |
13 | (adjective) compelling immediate action | |
8 | (noun) the act of earnestly supporting or encouraging | |
10 | (adjective) of or relating to the function or production or secretion of urine | |
21 | (noun) liquid excretory product | |
695 | (pronoun) the persons speaking, regarded as an object; ourselves; the objective case of 'we' | |
30 | (noun) North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776 | |
25 | (noun) the customary manner in which a language (or a form of a language) is spoken or written | |
797 | (verb) put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; (noun) the act of using | |
704 | (adjective) employed in accomplishing something | |
106 | (adjective) being of use or service | |
10 | (noun) the quality of being of practical use | |
18 | (adjective) having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully | |
91 | (noun) a person who makes use of a thing; someone who uses or employs something | |
7 | (verb) take (someone) to their seats, as in theaters or auditoriums; (noun) an official stationed at the entrance of a courtroom or legislative chamber | |
270 | (noun) an act that exploits or victimizes someone (treats them unfairly) | |
12 | (noun) a former communist country in eastern Europe and northern Asia; established in 1922; included Russia and 14 other soviet socialist republics (Ukraine and Byelorussia and others); officially dissolved 31 December 1991 | |
78 | (adjective) occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure | |
240 | (adverb) under normal conditions | |
11 | (noun) the syllable naming the first (tonic) note of any major scale in solmization | |
9 | (noun) a state in the western United States; settled in 1847 by Mormons led by Brigham Young | |
7 | (adjective) of or involving the uterus | |
10 | (noun) a hollow muscular organ in the pelvic cavity of females; contains the developing fetus | |
39 | (noun) a company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation | |
14 | (noun) the state of having been made use of | |
17 | (verb) convert (from an investment trust to a unit trust) | |
14 | (adjective) put to use | |
17 | (noun) the greatest possible degree | |
17 | (verb) express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words) | |
13 | (noun) the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication | |
9 | (adjective) communicated in words | |
18 | (adverb) completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers |