Which to use
“accidentally” and “accidently” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,911
- “accidentally” frequency rank
- #34,363
- “accidently” frequency rank
- 39274
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | accidentally | accidently |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In an accidental manner; by chance, unexpectedly. | Accidentally; by chance, unintentionally. |
Letter map: accidentally vs accidently
Shared letters muted; letters that set accidentally and accidently apart highlighted. Shared run: 10. accidentally runs 12 letters (VCCVCVCCVCCV) against accidently's 10 (VCCVCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Corpus notes: accidentally and accidently
accidentally and accidently are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
accidentally is recorded at frequency rank #4,911, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˌæk.sɪˈdɛnt(ə)li/. accidently is at rank #34,363, tagged as anadv.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 39274, this pair ranks #278,175 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of accidentally vs accidently
Shared letters: acdeilnty. Private to "accidentally": -. Private to "accidently": -.
"accidentally" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVCCV · "accidently" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- accidentally ← accdientally · acciddentally · accidenatlly · accidenntally · accidentallyy · accidentaly · accidentalyl · accidentlaly
- accidently ← accdiently · acciddently · accidenlty · accidenntly · accidentlly · accidentlyy · accidenttly · accidentyl
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "accidentally" and "accidently" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "accidentally" or "accidently" show up more?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "accidentally" and "accidently".
- Full dictionary entry for "accidentally" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "accidently" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #278,175 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "accidentally" and "accidently" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "accidental vs accidently". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #278,175 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.