Which to use
“explicit” is an adjective and “explicitly” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,560
- “explicit” frequency rank
- #7,561
- “explicitly” frequency rank
- 15121
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | explicit | explicitly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Very specific, clear, or detailed. | In an explicit manner. |
Letter map: explicit vs explicitly
Shared letters muted; letters that set explicit and explicitly apart highlighted. Shared run: 8.
Grammar separator: explicit vs explicitly
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: explicit is anadjective and explicitlyanadverb. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “explicit” sits inside “explicitly”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
explicit is recorded at frequency rank #7,560, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɪkˈsplɪs.ɪt/. explicitly is at rank #7,561, 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 15121, this pair ranks #465,928 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of explicit vs explicitly
Shared letters: ceilptx. Private to "explicit": -. Private to "explicitly": y.
"explicit" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "explicitly" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- explicit ← epxlicit · exlpicit · expilcit · explciit · expliccit · explicitt · explicti · expliict
- explicitly ← epxlicitly · exlpicitly · expilcitly · explciitly · expliccitly · explicilty · explicitlly · explicitlyy
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "explicit" and "explicitly" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "explicit" vs "explicitly" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pair "explicit" vs "explicitly" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "explicit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "explicitly" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #465,928 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "explicit" and "explicitly" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "elicit vs explicit". 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 #465,928 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.