Which to use
“convincing” is an adjective and “convincingly” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,437
- “convincing” frequency rank
- #25,333
- “convincingly” frequency rank
- 32770
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | convincing | convincingly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Effective as proof or evidence. | In a convincing manner. |
Where the eye mixes convincing and convincingly
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses convincing with convincingly
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: convincing is /kənˈvɪnsɪŋ/ while convincingly is /kənˈvɪn.sɪŋ.li/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “convincing” sits inside “convincingly”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
convincing is recorded at frequency rank #7,437, classified as anadj, pronounced /kənˈvɪnsɪŋ/. convincingly is at rank #25,333, tagged as anadv, pronounced /kənˈvɪn.sɪŋ.li/.
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 32770, this pair ranks #335,064 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of convincing vs convincingly
Shared letters: cginov. Private to "convincing": -. Private to "convincingly": ly.
"convincing" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "convincingly" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- convincing ← cconvincing · cnovincing · conivncing · connvincing · convicning · convinccing · convincign · convincingg
- convincingly ← cconvincingly · cnovincingly · conivncingly · connvincingly · convicningly · convinccingly · convincignly · convincinggly
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "convincing" and "convincingly" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "convincing" vs "convincingly" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "convincing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "convincingly" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #335,064 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "convincing" and "convincingly" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "convening vs convincing". 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 #335,064 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.