Which to use
“solemn” is an adjective and “solemnly” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,031
- “solemn” frequency rank
- #28,026
- “solemnly” frequency rank
- 45057
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | solemn | solemnly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Of or pertaining to religious ceremonies and rites; (generally) religious in nature; sacred. | In a solemn manner. |
Where the eye mixes solemn and solemnly
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. solemn runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against solemnly's 8 (CVCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses solemn with solemnly
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: solemn is /ˈsɒləm/ while solemnly is /ˈsɒləmli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “solemn” sits inside “solemnly”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
solemn is recorded at frequency rank #17,031, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɒləm/. solemnly is at rank #28,026, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈsɒləmli/.
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 45057, this pair ranks #224,796 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of solemn vs solemnly
Shared letters: elmnos. Private to "solemn": -. Private to "solemnly": y.
"solemn" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "solemnly" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "solemn" for "solemnly" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "solemn" or "solemnly" show up more?
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 "solemn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "solemnly" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #224,796 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "solemn" and "solemnly" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "solemn vs solon". 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 #224,796 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.