Which to use
“adversary” is a noun and “adversely” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,752
- “adversary” frequency rank
- #20,279
- “adversely” frequency rank
- 40031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | adversary | adversely |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An opponent or rival. | In an adverse manner. |
Letter map: adversary vs adversely
Shared letters muted; letters that set adversary and adversely apart highlighted. Shared run: 7. adversary and adversely follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Part-of-speech tell for adversary / adversely
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: adversary is anoun and adverselyanadverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
adversary is recorded at frequency rank #19,752, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈæd.və.sɛɹi/. adversely is at rank #20,279, 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 40031, this pair ranks #271,297 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of adversary vs adversely
Shared letters: adersvy. Private to "adversary": -. Private to "adversely": l.
"adversary" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "adversely" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "adversary" for "adversely" ever safe?
Which is more common, "adversary" or "adversely"?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "adversary" and "adversely".
- Full dictionary entry for "adversary" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "adversely" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #271,297 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "adversary" and "adversely" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "adversely vs adversity". 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 #271,297 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.