Which to use
“arguable” is an adjective and “arguably” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,509
- “arguable” frequency rank
- #8,236
- “arguably” frequency rank
- 51745
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arguable | arguably |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | That can be argued; that can be proven or strongly supported with sound logical deduction, precedent, and evidence. | As can be supported or proven by sound logical deduction, evidence, and precedent, but without absolute certainty. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set arguable and arguably apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
arguable and arguably 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 a single letter - e in “arguable” becomes y in “arguably” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51745, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arguable is recorded at frequency rank #43,509, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈɑːɡjuəbl/. arguably is at rank #8,236, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈɑːɡjuəbli/.
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 51745, this pair ranks #162,893 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "arguable" and "arguably" be used interchangeably?
Remembering arguable vs arguably
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “arguable”; for an adverb, it's “arguably”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “arguable” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable