arbitrarily

Name: arbitrarily, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

adv

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“arbitrarily” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,722. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,722
frequency rank, English: 3,931
“A” headwords: 17
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-arbitrarily · arbitrarily · English

arbitrarily · rank #21,722 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

FREQ-MID #21,722
LEN-MEGA 11 letters
VOW-5 5 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
VAR-HIGH 17 variants
BOOK-MID 3,931
PHOTO-FINISH annihilation

Nearest frequency peer: annihilation (-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.

alphabetical

78,283
alternately

78,282
annihilation

78,280
arbitrarily

78,279
armistice

78,278
att

78,275

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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

arbitrarily vs arbitrary

82% similar

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

Key facts for arbitrarily
Property	Value
Headword	arbitrarily
Language	English
Part of speech	Adverb
Letters	11
Frequency rank	#21,722
Misspellings tracked	17
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “arbitrarily”

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).arbitrarilylands here:

#21,722

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “annihilation” (#21,721), “armistice” (#21,723), “alternately” (#21,719). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “arbitrarily” is #21,722. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around arbitrarily, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #21,722 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for arbitrarily, with forms such as "abritrarily", "arbbitrarily", and "arbirtarily". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "arbitrary", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From arbitrary + -ly. The correct English form is arbitrarily, spelled A-R-B-I-T-R-A-R-I-L-Y.

Definition

1
In an arbitrary manner.
2
To an arbitrary degree.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

The winner was chosen arbitrarily.
From these remarks it will be seen that I look at the term species, as one arbitrarily given for the sake of convenience to a set of individuals closely resembling each other, and that it does not essentially differ from the term variety, which is given to less distinct and more fluctuating forms. The term variety, again, in comparison with mere individua…

Etymology

From arbitrary + -ly.

This word in other languages

arbitrariamente(Español)arbitrairement(Français)beliebig(Deutsch)arbitrariamente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

abritrarily
arbbitrarily
arbirtarily
arbitarrily
arbitrairly
arbitrarilly
arbitrarilyy
arbitrariyl
arbitrarliy
arbitrarrily
arbitrraily
arbitrrarily
arbittrarily
arbtirarily
aribtrarily
arrbitrarily
rabitrarily

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of arbitrarily - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "arbitrarily"

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 "arbitrarily"?

"arbitrarily" is spelled A-R-B-I-T-R-A-R-I-L-Y.

What does "arbitrarily" mean?

As an adverb, "arbitrarily" means: In an arbitrary manner.

What words are commonly confused with "arbitrarily"?

"arbitrarily" is commonly confused with "arbitrary". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

What is the origin of the word "arbitrarily"?

From arbitrary + -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 "arbitrarily", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

alternately#21,719 Bloomington#21,732 unimportant#21,690 coronavirus#21,760

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

scrambling17 variants overflowing17 variants momentarily17 variants narcissistic17 variants