Which to use
“positively” is an adverb and “positivity” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,470
- “positively” frequency rank
- #18,923
- “positivity” frequency rank
- 27393
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | positively | positivity |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In a positive manner. | The condition of being positive (in all senses); positivism. Optimism. |
Where the eye mixes positively and positivity
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between positively and positivity
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: positively is /ˈpɒz.ɪ.tɪv.li/ while positivity is /ˌpɒz.ɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27393, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
positively is recorded at frequency rank #8,470, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈpɒz.ɪ.tɪv.li/. positivity is at rank #18,923, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˌpɒz.ɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/.
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 27393, this pair ranks #379,265 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of positively vs positivity
Shared letters: iopstvy. Private to "positively": el. Private to "positivity": -.
"positively" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCV · "positivity" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- positively ← opsitively · poistively · posiitvely · positievly · positivelly · positivelyy · positiveyl · positivley
- positivity ← opsitivity · poistivity · posiitvity · positiivty · positivitty · positivityy · positiviyt · positivtiy
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "positively" for "positivity" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "positively" or "positivity" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "positively" and "positivity" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "positively" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "positivity" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #379,265 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "positively" and "positivity" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "positive vs positively". 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 #379,265 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.