Which to use
“selectively” is an adverb and “selectivity” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,201
- “selectively” frequency rank
- #37,218
- “selectivity” frequency rank
- 56419
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | selectively | selectivity |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In a selective manner, only affecting or applying to some selected cases. | The quality of being selective, or extent to which something is selective. |
Letter map: selectively vs selectivity
Shared letters muted; letters that set selectively and selectivity apart highlighted. Shared run: 9.
Role in the sentence - selectively and selectivity
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: selectively is anadverb and selectivityanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
selectively is recorded at frequency rank #19,201, classified as anadv. selectivity is at rank #37,218, tagged as anoun.
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 56419, this pair ranks #126,457 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of selectively vs selectivity
Shared letters: ceilstvy. Private to "selectively": -. Private to "selectivity": -.
"selectively" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCV · "selectivity" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- selectively ← eslectively · seelctively · selcetively · selecctively · selecitvely · selectievly · selectivelly · selectivelyy
- selectivity ← eslectivity · seelctivity · selcetivity · selecctivity · selecitvity · selectiivty · selectivitty · selectivityy
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "selectively" and "selectivity" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "selectively" vs "selectivity" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "selectively" and "selectivity".
- Full dictionary entry for "selectively" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "selectivity" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #126,457 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "selectively" and "selectivity" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "selective vs selectively". 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 #126,457 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.