# shellac vs shelly

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### shellac
*noun · IPA /ʃəˈlæk/ · frequency rank #49,632*
A processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca; used in polishes, varnishes etc.

### shelly
*adjective · IPA /ˈʃɛli/ · frequency rank #19,457*
Composed of the shells of dead marine creatures

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shellac-vs-shelly