Which to use
“wrongly” is an adverb and “wrongs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,943
- “wrongly” frequency rank
- #19,258
- “wrongs” frequency rank
- 35201
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wrongly | wrongs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In violation of a moral or other standard, code, or convention; in an unfair, unjust, dishonest, or immoral manner; wrongly convicted is synonymous with wrongful conviction and miscarriage of justice. | plural of wrong |
Where the eye mixes wrongly and wrongs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between wrongly and wrongs
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wrongly is /ˈɹɒŋ.li/ while wrongs is /ɹɒŋz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35201, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wrongly is recorded at frequency rank #15,943, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈɹɒŋ.li/. wrongs is at rank #19,258, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɒŋz/.
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 35201, this pair ranks #314,029 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wrongly vs wrongs
Shared letters: gnorw. Private to "wrongly": ly. Private to "wrongs": s.
"wrongly" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV · "wrongs" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wrongly" for "wrongs" ever safe?
Frequency check: "wrongly" vs "wrongs" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wrongly" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wrongs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #314,029 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wrongly" and "wrongs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wrangle vs wrongly". 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 #314,029 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.