Which to use
“lately” is an adverb and “likely” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,568
- “lately” frequency rank
- #637
- “likely” frequency rank
- 4205
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lately | likely |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Recently; not long ago; of late; not long since. | Probable; having a greater-than-even chance of occurring. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lately and likely apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lately and likely form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4205, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lately is recorded at frequency rank #3,568, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈleɪt.li/. likely is at rank #637, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlaɪkli/.
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 4205, this pair ranks #519,666 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lately" and "likely" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lately vs likely
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “lately”; for an adjective, it's “likely”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lately” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable