additionalvsadditionallyWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: additional is a adjective, additionally is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“additional” is an adjective and “additionally” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,115
“additional” frequency rank
#5,097
“additionally” frequency rank
6212
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature additional additionally
Definition Supplemental or added to something. By way of addition; in addition to; also.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set additional and additionally apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
additional
12 ch
additionally

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

additional and additionally form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “additional” sits inside “additionally” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

additional is recorded at frequency rank #1,115, classified as anadj, pronounced /əˈdɪʃənəl/. additionally is at rank #5,097, 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 6212, this pair ranks #512,312 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

additional#1,115
additionally#5,097

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "additional" and "additionally" be used interchangeably?
No, "additional" and "additionally" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering additional vs additionally

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “additional”; for an adverb, it's “additionally”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “additional” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list