Which to use
“intimate” is an adjective and “intimately” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,487
- “intimate” frequency rank
- #21,247
- “intimately” frequency rank
- 27734
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intimate | intimately |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Closely acquainted; familiar. | In an intimate manner. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intimate and intimately apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intimate is /ˈɪn.tɪ.mət/ while intimately is /ˈɪntɪmətli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “intimate” sits inside “intimately”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intimate is recorded at frequency rank #6,487, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈɪn.tɪ.mət/. intimately is at rank #21,247, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈɪntɪmətli/.
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 27734, this pair ranks #376,516 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of intimate vs intimately
Shared letters: aeimnt. Private to "intimate": -. Private to "intimately": ly.
"intimate" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "intimately" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- intimate ← initmate · inntimate · intiamte · intimaet · intimatte · intimmate · intimtae · intmiate
- intimately ← initmately · inntimately · intiamtely · intimaetly · intimatelly · intimatelyy · intimateyl · intimatley
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "intimate" and "intimately" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "intimate" or "intimately"?
Remembering intimate vs intimately
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “intimate”; for an adverb, it's “intimately”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “intimate” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable