localityvslocallyWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: locality is a noun, locally is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#11,737
“locality” frequency rank
#5,980
“locally” frequency rank
17717
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature locality locally
Definition The fact or quality of having a position in space. With respect to place; in place.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set locality and locally apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
locality
7 ch
locally

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

locality and locally form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

locality is recorded at frequency rank #11,737, classified as anoun, pronounced /loʊˈkæl.ɪ.ti/. locally is at rank #5,980, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈləʊkəli/.

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 17717, this pair ranks #449,616 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

locality#11,737
locally#5,980

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "locality" and "locally" be used interchangeably?
No, "locality" and "locally" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering locality vs locally

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list