Which to use
“narrower” is a noun and “narrowly” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,913
- “narrower” frequency rank
- #12,109
- “narrowly” frequency rank
- 32022
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | narrower | narrowly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One who, or that which, narrows. | In a narrow manner; without flexibility or latitude. |
Letter map: narrower vs narrowly
Shared letters muted; letters that set narrower and narrowly apart highlighted. Shared run: 6. narrower (CVCCVCVC) and narrowly (CVCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Grammar separator: narrower vs narrowly
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: narrower is anoun and narrowlyanadverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32022, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
narrower is recorded at frequency rank #19,913, classified as anoun. narrowly is at rank #12,109, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈnɛɹoʊli/.
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 32022, this pair ranks #341,241 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of narrower vs narrowly
Shared letters: anorw. Private to "narrower": e. Private to "narrowly": ly.
"narrower" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "narrowly" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "narrower" and "narrowly" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "narrower" or "narrowly"?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "narrower" and "narrowly".
- Full dictionary entry for "narrower" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "narrowly" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #341,241 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "narrower" and "narrowly" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "narrow vs narrower". 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 #341,241 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.