# illegal vs illegally

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### illegal
*adjective · IPA /ɪˈliːɡəl/ · frequency rank #2,115*
Contrary to, forbidden, or not authorized by law, especially criminal law.

### illegally
*adverb · IPA /ɪˈliːɡəli/ · frequency rank #8,679*
In a manner contrary to law.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/illegal-vs-illegally