Which to use
“irrevocable” is an adjective and “irrevocably” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,914
- “irrevocable” frequency rank
- #38,448
- “irrevocably” frequency rank
- 77362
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | irrevocable | irrevocably |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Unable to be retracted or reversed; final. | In an irrevocable manner; in a manner which prevents the ability to be reverted, repealed, or undone. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set irrevocable and irrevocably apart are highlighted. They share 10 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: irrevocable is /ɪˈɹɛvəkəbəl/ while irrevocably is /ɪˈɹɛ.və.kə.bli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “irrevocable” becomes y in “irrevocably”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77362, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
irrevocable is recorded at frequency rank #38,914, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɪˈɹɛvəkəbəl/. irrevocably is at rank #38,448, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ɪˈɹɛ.və.kə.bli/.
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 77362, this pair ranks #27,485 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of irrevocable vs irrevocably
Shared letters: abceilorv. Private to "irrevocable": -. Private to "irrevocably": y.
"irrevocable" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCCV · "irrevocably" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- irrevocable ← irervocable · irevocable · irreovcable · irrevcoable · irrevoacble · irrevocabble · irrevocabel · irrevocablle
- irrevocably ← irervocably · irevocably · irreovcably · irrevcoably · irrevoacbly · irrevocabbly · irrevocablly · irrevocablyy
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "irrevocable" and "irrevocably" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "irrevocable" or "irrevocably"?
Remembering irrevocable vs irrevocably
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “irrevocable”; for an adverb, it's “irrevocably”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “irrevocable” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable