Which to use
“dearly” is an adverb and “deathly” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,381
- “dearly” frequency rank
- #32,344
- “deathly” frequency rank
- 47725
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dearly | deathly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In a dear or precious manner. | Appearing as though dead, or on the verge of death. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dearly and deathly apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dearly is /ˈdɪɹli/ while deathly is /ˈdɛθli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dearly is recorded at frequency rank #15,381, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈdɪɹli/. deathly is at rank #32,344, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdɛθli/.
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 47725, this pair ranks #199,781 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dearly vs deathly
Shared letters: adely. Private to "dearly": r. Private to "deathly": ht.
"dearly" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "deathly" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dearly" and "deathly" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dearly" or "deathly"?
Remembering dearly vs deathly
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “dearly”; for an adjective, it's “deathly”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dearly” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable