computationalvscomputationallyWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#12,566
“computational” frequency rank
#49,257
“computationally” frequency rank
61823
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature computational computationally
Definition Of or relating to computation. In a computational manner

Where the eye mixes computational and computationally

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 13 letters in sequence.

13 ch
computational
15 ch
computationally

Visual trap between computational and computationally

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: computational is /ˌkɒmpjʊˈteɪʃənəl/ while computationally is /ˌkɒmpjʊˈteɪʃənəli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “computational” sits inside “computationally”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

computational is recorded at frequency rank #12,566, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˌkɒmpjʊˈteɪʃənəl/. computationally is at rank #49,257, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˌkɒmpjʊˈteɪʃənəli/.

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 61823, this pair ranks #91,990 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of computational vs computationally

Shared letters: acilmnoptu. Private to "computational": -. Private to "computationally": y.

"computational" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVVCVC  ·  "computationally" · 15 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • computationalccomputational · cmoputational · commputational · compputational · comptuational · compuattional · computaitonal · computatinoal
  • computationallyccomputationally · cmoputationally · commputationally · compputationally · comptuationally · compuattionally · computaitonally · computatinoally

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "computational" and "computationally" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "computational" is an adjective and "computationally" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary English text, does "computational" or "computationally" show up more?
"computational" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,566 in our English list, against #49,257 for "computationally". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "computational" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "computationally" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #91,990 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "computational" and "computationally" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "computation vs computational". 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 #91,990 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list