Which to use
“deliberate” is an adjective and “deliberately” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,318
- “deliberate” frequency rank
- #6,888
- “deliberately” frequency rank
- 16206
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deliberate | deliberately |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Done on purpose; intentional. | Intentionally, or after deliberation; not accidentally. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set deliberate and deliberately apart are highlighted. They share 10 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: deliberate is /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət/ while deliberately is /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət.li/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “deliberate” sits inside “deliberately”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deliberate is recorded at frequency rank #9,318, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət/. deliberately is at rank #6,888, tagged as anadv, pronounced /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət.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 16206, this pair ranks #459,210 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of deliberate vs deliberately
Shared letters: abdeilrt. Private to "deliberate": -. Private to "deliberately": y.
"deliberate" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCV · "deliberately" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- deliberate ← ddeliberate · deilberate · delbierate · delibberate · delibearte · deliberaet · deliberatte · deliberrate
- deliberately ← ddeliberately · deilberately · delbierately · delibberately · delibeartely · deliberaetly · deliberatelly · deliberatelyy
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "deliberate" and "deliberately" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "deliberate" or "deliberately"?
Remembering deliberate vs deliberately
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “deliberate”; for an adverb, it's “deliberately”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “deliberate” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable