Which to use
“repeated” is a verb and “repeatedly” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,481
- “repeated” frequency rank
- #5,077
- “repeatedly” frequency rank
- 9558
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | repeated | repeatedly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of repeat | Done several times or in repetition. |
Where the eye mixes repeated and repeatedly
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. repeated runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against repeatedly's 10 (CVCVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses repeated with repeatedly
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: repeated is /ɹɪˈpiːtɪd/ while repeatedly is /ɹɪˈpiːtɪdli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “repeated” sits inside “repeatedly”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9558, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
repeated is recorded at frequency rank #4,481, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpiːtɪd/. repeatedly is at rank #5,077, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ɹɪˈpiːtɪdli/.
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 9558, this pair ranks #496,794 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of repeated vs repeatedly
Shared letters: adeprt. Private to "repeated": -. Private to "repeatedly": ly.
"repeated" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "repeatedly" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- repeated ← erpeated · reepated · repaeted · repeaetd · repeatde · repeatedd · repeatted · repetaed
- repeatedly ← erpeatedly · reepatedly · repaetedly · repeaetdly · repeatdely · repeateddly · repeatedlly · repeatedlyy
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "repeated" and "repeatedly" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "repeated" or "repeatedly"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "repeated" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "repeatedly" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #496,794 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "repeated" and "repeatedly" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "repeatedly vs reputedly". 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 #496,794 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.