Which to use
“fairly” is an adverb and “fairs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,994
- “fairly” frequency rank
- #17,364
- “fairs” frequency rank
- 20358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fairly | fairs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In a fair manner; fair; not biased or skewed or favouring a certain party | plural of fair |
Where the eye mixes fairly and fairs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fairly runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against fairs's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fairly and fairs
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fairly is /ˈfɛə(ɹ).li/ while fairs is /fɛəz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fairly is recorded at frequency rank #2,994, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈfɛə(ɹ).li/. fairs is at rank #17,364, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɛəz/.
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 20358, this pair ranks #431,642 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fairly vs fairs
Shared letters: afir. Private to "fairly": ly. Private to "fairs": s.
"fairly" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "fairs" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fairly" and "fairs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "fairly" or "fairs" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fairly" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fairs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #431,642 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fairly" and "fairs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fairs vs Fars". 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 #431,642 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.