adversely

adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“adversely” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,279. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,279
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In an adverse manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-adversely · adversely · English

adversely · rank #20,279 · 14 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,279
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abound

Nearest frequency peer: abound (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “adversely”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “adversely” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

adversely vs adversity
78% similar
adversely vs adverse
78% similar
adversely vs adversary
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for adversely
PropertyValue
Headwordadversely
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters9
Frequency rank#20,279
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “adversely”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).adverselylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “abound” (#20,278), “afternoons” (#20,280), “abort” (#20,277). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adversely” is #20,279. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around adversely, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #20,279 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In an adverse manner.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for adversely, with forms such as "addversely", "adevrsely", and "adveresly". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "adversity", "adverse", "adversary", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From adverse + -ly. The correct English form is adversely, spelled A-D-V-E-R-S-E-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In an adverse manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. adversely affected
  2. Mucus-rich ink is supposedly a dangerous or annoying substance that interferes with fish gills and some cephalopods react adversely to their own inkings in small containers or in the lab.

Etymology

From adverse + -ly.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • addversely
  • adevrsely
  • adveresly
  • adverrsely
  • adverselly
  • adverselyy
  • adverseyl
  • adversley
  • adverssely
  • advesrely
  • advresely
  • advversely
  • avdersely
  • daversely

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adversely - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

addversely1adevrsely2adveresly2adverrsely1adverselly1adverselyy1adverseyl2adversley2
Edit distance from "adversely"

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 "adversely"?
"adversely" is spelled A-D-V-E-R-S-E-L-Y.
What does "adversely" mean?
As an adverb, "adversely" means: In an adverse manner.
What words are commonly confused with "adversely"?
"adversely" is commonly confused with "adversity", "adverse", "adversary". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "adversely"?
From adverse + -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 "adversely", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

concerted#20,318Cornelius#20,323customize#20,327Dartmouth#20,329

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

suppressing14 variantsspecialize14 variantsdivisional14 variantsfaithfully14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list