Which to use
“empirical” is an adjective and “empirically” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,590
- “empirical” frequency rank
- #33,635
- “empirically” frequency rank
- 46225
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empirical | empirically |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pertaining to or based on experience, as opposed to theory. | Based on experience as opposed to theoretical knowledge. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set empirical and empirically apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: empirical is anadjective and empiricallyanadverb. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “empirical” sits inside “empirically”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empirical is recorded at frequency rank #12,590, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɪmˈpɪɹɪkəl/. empirically is at rank #33,635, 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 46225, this pair ranks #213,809 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of empirical vs empirically
Shared letters: aceilmpr. Private to "empirical": -. Private to "empirically": y.
"empirical" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC · "empirically" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- empirical ← emiprical · emmpirical · empiircal · empircial · empiriacl · empiricall · empiriccal · empiricla
- empirically ← emiprically · emmpirically · empiircally · empircially · empiriaclly · empiricallyy · empiricaly · empiricalyl
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empirical" and "empirically" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "empirical" or "empirically"?
Remembering empirical vs empirically
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “empirical”; for an adverb, it's “empirically”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “empirical” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable