Which to use
“hilarious” is an adjective and “hilariously” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,531
- “hilarious” frequency rank
- #28,240
- “hilariously” frequency rank
- 32771
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hilarious | hilariously |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Very funny; causing great merriment and laughter. | In a hilarious manner; so as to amuse greatly. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hilarious and hilariously 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: hilarious is anadjective and hilariouslyanadverb. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “hilarious” sits inside “hilariously”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32771, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hilarious is recorded at frequency rank #4,531, classified as anadj, pronounced /hɪˈlɛə.ɹi.əs/. hilariously is at rank #28,240, 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 32771, this pair ranks #335,054 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hilarious vs hilariously
Shared letters: ahilorsu. Private to "hilarious": -. Private to "hilariously": y.
"hilarious" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVVC · "hilariously" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- hilarious ← hhilarious · hialrious · hilairous · hilariosu · hilariouss · hilariuos · hilaroius · hilarrious
- hilariously ← hhilariously · hialriously · hilairously · hilariosuly · hilarioulsy · hilariouslly · hilariouslyy · hilarioussly
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hilarious" and "hilariously" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hilarious" or "hilariously"?
Remembering hilarious vs hilariously
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “hilarious”; for an adverb, it's “hilariously”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hilarious” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable