Which to use
“modestly” and “mostly” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,890
- “modestly” frequency rank
- #1,568
- “mostly” frequency rank
- 28458
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | modestly | mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In a modest manner; with humility. | Mainly or chiefly; for the most part; usually, generally, on the whole. |
Letter map: modestly vs mostly
Shared letters muted; letters that set modestly and mostly apart highlighted. Shared run: 6.
Spelling & dictionary notes on modestly vs mostly
modestly and mostly are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28458, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
modestly is recorded at frequency rank #26,890, classified as anadv. mostly is at rank #1,568, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈməʊstli/.
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 28458, this pair ranks #370,918 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of modestly vs mostly
Shared letters: lmosty. Private to "modestly": de. Private to "mostly": -.
"modestly" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV · "mostly" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "modestly" and "mostly" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "modestly" vs "mostly" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've compared "modestly" and "mostly". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "modestly" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mostly" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #370,918 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "modestly" and "mostly" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "modestly vs Modesto". 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 #370,918 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.