Which to use
“veil” is a noun and “verily” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,994
- “veil” frequency rank
- #37,272
- “verily” frequency rank
- 49266
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | veil | verily |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material. | Truly; doubtless; honestly; in truth. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set veil and verily apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: veil is /veɪl/ while verily is /ˈvɛɹ.əl.i/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49266, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
veil is recorded at frequency rank #11,994, classified as anoun, pronounced /veɪl/. verily is at rank #37,272, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈvɛɹ.əl.i/.
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 49266, this pair ranks #185,267 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of veil vs verily
Shared letters: eilv. Private to "veil": -. Private to "verily": ry.
"veil" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "verily" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "veil" and "verily" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "veil" or "verily"?
Remembering veil vs verily
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “veil”; for an adverb, it's “verily”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “veil” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable