Which to use
“efficiency” is a noun and “efficiently” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,749
- “efficiency” frequency rank
- #9,739
- “efficiently” frequency rank
- 13488
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | efficiency | efficiently |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The extent to which a resource is used for the intended purpose. | In an efficient manner. |
Letter map: efficiency vs efficiently
Shared letters muted; letters that set efficiency and efficiently apart highlighted. Shared run: 9.
Grammar separator: efficiency vs efficiently
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: efficiency is anoun and efficientlyanadverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13488, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
efficiency is recorded at frequency rank #3,749, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪˈfɪʃ.ən.si/. efficiently is at rank #9,739, tagged as anadv.
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 13488, this pair ranks #475,487 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of efficiency vs efficiently
Shared letters: cefiny. Private to "efficiency": -. Private to "efficiently": lt.
"efficiency" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVCCV · "efficiently" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- efficiency ← effciiency · efficciency · efficeincy · efficiecny · efficienccy · efficiencyy · efficienncy · efficienyc
- efficiently ← effciiently · efficciently · efficeintly · efficienlty · efficienntly · efficientlly · efficientlyy · efficienttly
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "efficiency" and "efficiently" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "efficiency" vs "efficiently" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pair "efficiency" vs "efficiently" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "efficiency" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "efficiently" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #475,487 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "efficiency" and "efficiently" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "efficient vs efficiently". 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 #475,487 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.