Which to use
“entire” is an adjective and “entirely” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #849
- “entire” frequency rank
- #1,937
- “entirely” frequency rank
- 2786
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | entire | entirely |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Whole; complete. | To the full or entire extent. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set entire and entirely apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
entire and entirely form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “entire” sits inside “entirely” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
entire is recorded at frequency rank #849, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɪnˈtaɪə/. entirely is at rank #1,937, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ɪnˈtaɪəli/.
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 2786, this pair ranks #524,031 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "entire" and "entirely" be used interchangeably?
Remembering entire vs entirely
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “entire”; for an adverb, it's “entirely”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “entire” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable