Which to use
“patent” is a noun and “patently” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,345
- “patent” frequency rank
- #33,785
- “patently” frequency rank
- 39130
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patent | patently |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent. | In a clear and unambiguous manner. |
Where the eye mixes patent and patently
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. patent runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against patently's 8 (CVCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between patent and patently
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: patent is /ˈpeɪtənt/ while patently is /ˈpeɪtəntli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “patent” sits inside “patently”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39130, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patent is recorded at frequency rank #5,345, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpeɪtənt/. patently is at rank #33,785, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈpeɪtəntli/.
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 39130, this pair ranks #279,529 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of patent vs patently
Shared letters: aenpt. Private to "patent": -. Private to "patently": ly.
"patent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "patently" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "patent" for "patently" ever safe?
Which is more common, "patent" or "patently"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "patent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patently" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #279,529 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patent" and "patently" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patent vs Paterno". 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 #279,529 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.