Unmistakable

How to spell unmistakable

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce unmistakable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unmistakable mean?

1. adjectiveSo clear or distinctive that it cannot be confused with anything else.

Unmistakable in a sentence

• The smell of fresh bread was unmistakable as she entered the bakery.

• His handwriting has an unmistakable slant that anyone in the office would recognise.

Where does unmistakable come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

This word is built entirely from familiar English parts, so its story is really the story of its core element, 'mistake'. That verb came into English in the 1300s from Old Norse 'mistaka', meaning to take wrongly or to take in error, formed from 'mis-' (wrongly) and 'taka' (to take), a word the Vikings brought to northern England. English later wrapped it in the Latin-derived suffix '-able', meaning 'able to be', and the native prefix 'un-', meaning 'not', to produce 'unmistakable', literally 'not able to be taken wrongly'. The result describes something so clear that it cannot be confused for anything else. A useful spelling note is that the silent 'e' of 'mistake' is dropped before '-able', which is why the word has 'tak' and not 'take' in the middle, the very spot where writers often hesitate.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• mistake (to identify wrongly)
• -able (able to be)