Which to use
“provisional” is an adjective and “provisionally” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,948
- “provisional” frequency rank
- #37,644
- “provisionally” frequency rank
- 49592
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | provisional | provisionally |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Temporary, but with the intention of eventually becoming permanent or being replaced by a permanent equivalent. | In a provisional way; temporarily. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set provisional and provisionally apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: provisional is anadjective and provisionallyanadverb. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “provisional” sits inside “provisionally”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
provisional is recorded at frequency rank #11,948, classified as anadj, pronounced /pɹəˈvɪʒənəl/. provisionally is at rank #37,644, tagged as anadv.
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 49592, this pair ranks #182,145 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of provisional vs provisionally
Shared letters: ailnoprsv. Private to "provisional": -. Private to "provisionally": y.
"provisional" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVCVVCVC · "provisionally" · 13 letters · shape CCVCVCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- provisional ← porvisional · pprovisional · proivsional · proviisonal · provisinoal · provisioanl · provisionall · provisionla
- provisionally ← porvisionally · pprovisionally · proivsionally · proviisonally · provisinoally · provisioanlly · provisionallyy · provisionaly
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "provisional" and "provisionally" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "provisional" or "provisionally"?
Remembering provisional vs provisionally
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “provisional”; for an adverb, it's “provisionally”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “provisional” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable