abysmally

/əˈbɪz.ml̩.i/

//əˈbɪz.ml̩.i// adv

"abysmally" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abysmally” is uncommon English (frequency #84,951 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,951
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Very; incredibly; profoundly; to an extreme degree; dreadfully.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abysmally · abysmally · English

abysmally · rank #84,951 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,951
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abstinent

Nearest frequency peer: abstinent (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “abysmally”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “abysmally” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for abysmally
PropertyValue
Headwordabysmally
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/əˈbɪz.ml̩.i/
Letters9
Frequency rank#84,951
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “abysmally” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).abysmallyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “abstinent” (#84,950), “acclimation” (#84,952), “accommodative” (#84,953). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abysmally” is #84,951. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

abysmally is uncommon English at frequency #84,951 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /əˈbɪz.ml̩.i/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Very; incredibly; profoundly; to an extreme degree; dreadfully.".

No misspelling variants are generated for abysmally in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From abysmal + -ly. The correct English form is abysmally, spelled A-B-Y-S-M-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Very; incredibly; profoundly; to an extreme degree; dreadfully.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abysmally appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Abysmally ignorant
  2. Am I alone in feeling smug (if slatternly) about the news that super-clean homes are a breeding ground for infection? Apparently, all that bleach is bad not just for germs but for children's immune systems, too, and paradoxically causes more disease than it prevents. Not round my gaff. Oh no. My standards of housekeeping are so abysmally low that my eldes…

Etymology

From abysmal + -ly.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abysmally"?
"abysmally" is spelled A-B-Y-S-M-A-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbɪz.ml̩.i/.
What does "abysmally" mean?
As an adverb, "abysmally" means: Very; incredibly; profoundly; to an extreme degree; dreadfully.
How do you pronounce "abysmally"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abysmally" is /əˈbɪz.ml̩.i/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abysmally"?
From abysmal + -ly. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abysmally", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list