Which to use
“irregularity” is a noun and “irregularly” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,830
- “irregularity” frequency rank
- #34,548
- “irregularly” frequency rank
- 83378
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | irregularity | irregularly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An instance of being irregular. | In an irregular manner; without rule, method, or order. |
Where the eye mixes irregularity and irregularly
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses irregularity with irregularly
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: irregularity is /ɪˌɹɛ.ɡjʊˈlæ.ɹɪ.ti/ while irregularly is /ɪˈɹɛɡjʊləli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83378, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
irregularity is recorded at frequency rank #48,830, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪˌɹɛ.ɡjʊˈlæ.ɹɪ.ti/. irregularly is at rank #34,548, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ɪˈɹɛɡjʊləli/.
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 83378, this pair ranks #13,934 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of irregularity vs irregularly
Shared letters: aegilruy. Private to "irregularity": t. Private to "irregularly": -.
"irregularity" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCVCV · "irregularly" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- irregularity ← iregularity · irergularity · irreggularity · irregluarity · irregualrity · irregulairty · irregularitty · irregularityy
- irregularly ← iregularly · irergularly · irreggularly · irregluarly · irregualrly · irregulalry · irregularlly · irregularlyy
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "irregularity" for "irregularly" ever safe?
Frequency check: "irregularity" vs "irregularly" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "irregularity" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "irregularly" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,934 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "irregularity" and "irregularly" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "irregular vs irregularly". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #13,934 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.