eminentlyvsevidentlyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“eminently” and “evidently” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#36,123
“eminently” frequency rank
#12,970
“evidently” frequency rank
49093
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eminently evidently
Definition In an eminent or prominent manner. In a manner which makes the fact or conclusion evident; obviously; as may be clearly inferred.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set eminently and evidently apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
eminently
9 ch
evidently

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. eminently (/ˈɛmɪnəntli/) and evidently (/ˈɛvɪdəntli/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eminently is recorded at frequency rank #36,123, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈɛmɪnəntli/. evidently is at rank #12,970, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈɛvɪdəntli/.

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 49093, this pair ranks #186,909 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of eminently vs evidently

Shared letters: eilnty. Private to "eminently": m. Private to "evidently": dv.

"eminently" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCCV  ·  "evidently" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eminentlyeimnently · emienntly · eminenlty · eminenntly · eminentlly · eminentlyy · eminenttly · eminentyl
  • evidentlyeivdently · evdiently · eviddently · evidenlty · evidenntly · evidentlly · evidentlyy · evidenttly

Frequency comparison

eminently#36,123
evidently#12,970

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eminently" and "evidently" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈɛmɪnəntli/ versus /ˈɛvɪdəntli/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "eminently" or "evidently"?
"evidently" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,970 in our English list, against #36,123 for "eminently". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering eminently vs evidently

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “eminently” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list