Which to use
“selective” is an adjective and “selectively” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,604
- “selective” frequency rank
- #19,201
- “selectively” frequency rank
- 27805
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | selective | selectively |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Of or relating to the process of selection. | In a selective manner, only affecting or applying to some selected cases. |
Letter map: selective vs selectively
Shared letters muted; letters that set selective and selectively apart highlighted. Shared run: 9.
Grammar separator: selective vs selectively
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: selective is anadjective and selectivelyanadverb. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “selective” sits inside “selectively”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
selective is recorded at frequency rank #8,604, classified as anadj, pronounced /səˈlɛktɪv/. selectively is at rank #19,201, 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 27805, this pair ranks #375,974 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of selective vs selectively
Shared letters: ceilstv. Private to "selective": -. Private to "selectively": y.
"selective" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV · "selectively" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- selective ← eslective · seelctive · selcetive · selecctive · selecitve · selectiev · selectivve · selecttive
- selectively ← eslectively · seelctively · selcetively · selecctively · selecitvely · selectievly · selectivelly · selectivelyy
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "selective" and "selectively" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "selective" vs "selectively" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "selective" and "selectively".
- Full dictionary entry for "selective" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "selectively" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #375,974 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "selective" and "selectively" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "selectively vs selectivity". 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 #375,974 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.