intensely vs intensity, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“intensely” is an adverb and “intensity” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,572
“intensely” frequency rank: #5,697
“intensity” frequency rank: 20269
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	intensely	intensity
Definition	In an intense manner.	The quality of being intense.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intensely and intensity apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

intensely

9 ch

intensity

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intensely is /ɪnˈtɛnsli/ while intensity is /ɪnˈtɛnsɪti/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20269, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intensely is recorded at frequency rank #14,572, classified as anadv, pronounced /ɪnˈtɛnsli/. intensity is at rank #5,697, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈtɛnsɪti/.

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 20269, this pair ranks #432,292 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of intensely vs intensity

Shared letters: einsty. Private to "intensely": l. Private to "intensity": -.

"intensely" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "intensity" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

intensely ← inetnsely · inntensely · intenesly · intennsely · intenselly · intenselyy · intenseyl · intensley
intensity ← inetnsity · inntensity · intenisty · intennsity · intensitty · intensityy · intensiyt · intenssity

Frequency comparison

intensely#14,572

intensity#5,697

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intensely" and "intensity" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "intensely" is an adverb and "intensity" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "intensely" or "intensity"?

"intensity" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,697 in our English list, against #14,572 for "intensely". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering intensely vs intensity

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “intensely”; for a noun, it's “intensity”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “intensely” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable