Which to use
“horizontal” is an adjective and “horizontally” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,299
- “horizontal” frequency rank
- #19,615
- “horizontally” frequency rank
- 27914
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | horizontal | horizontally |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Perpendicular to the vertical; parallel to the plane of the horizon; level, flat. | In a horizontal direction or position. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set horizontal and horizontally apart are highlighted. They share 10 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: horizontal is anadjective and horizontallyanadverb. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “horizontal” sits inside “horizontally”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27914, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
horizontal is recorded at frequency rank #8,299, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˌhɒɹɪˈzɒntəl/. horizontally is at rank #19,615, 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 27914, this pair ranks #375,124 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of horizontal vs horizontally
Shared letters: ahilnortz. Private to "horizontal": -. Private to "horizontally": y.
"horizontal" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVC · "horizontally" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- horizontal ← hhorizontal · hoirzontal · horiozntal · horiznotal · horizonatl · horizonntal · horizontall · horizontla
- horizontally ← hhorizontally · hoirzontally · horiozntally · horiznotally · horizonatlly · horizonntally · horizontallyy · horizontaly
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "horizontal" and "horizontally" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "horizontal" or "horizontally"?
Remembering horizontal vs horizontally
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “horizontal”; for an adverb, it's “horizontally”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “horizontal” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable