awfully

/ˈɔː.fʊ.li/

//ˈɔː.fʊ.li// adv

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

"awfully" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“awfully” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,845. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,845
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Badly, terribly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-awfully · awfully · English

awfully · rank #16,845 · 9 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,845
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH austerity

Nearest frequency peer: austerity (-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 “awfully”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “awfully” 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).

awfully vs awful
71% similar
awfully vs artfully
75% similar

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

Key facts for awfully
PropertyValue
Headwordawfully
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈɔː.fʊ.li/
Letters7
Frequency rank#16,845
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “awfully”

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).awfullylands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “austerity” (#16,844), “axes” (#16,846), “artifact” (#16,843). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “awfully” is #16,845. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around awfully (IPA /ˈɔː.fʊ.li/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #16,845 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for awfully, with forms such as "afwully", "awffully", and "awfluly". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "awful", "artfully", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From awful + -ly. The correct English form is awfully, spelled A-W-F-U-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Badly, terribly.
  2. 2
    Very; exceedingly; extremely; excessively.
  3. 3
    In a manner inspiring awe.
  4. 4
    Reverently.
  5. 5
    Fearfully.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She led after the swimming and cycling, but ran awfully and came in fourth.
  2. It was wondrous. 'I'm awfully glad I came now,' his thought ran; 'I'm managing it rather well.'

Etymology

From awful + -ly.

This word in other languages

asombroso(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afwully
  • awffully
  • awfluly
  • awfullyy
  • awfuly
  • awfulyl
  • awuflly
  • awwfully
  • wafully

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of awfully - 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.

afwully2awffully1awfluly2awfullyy1awfuly1awfulyl2awuflly2awwfully1
Edit distance from "awfully"

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 "awfully"?
"awfully" is spelled A-W-F-U-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɔː.fʊ.li/.
What does "awfully" mean?
As an adverb, "awfully" means: Badly, terribly.
What words are commonly confused with "awfully"?
"awfully" is commonly confused with "awful", "artfully". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "awfully"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "awfully" is /ˈɔː.fʊ.li/. 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 "awfully"?
From awful + -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 "awfully", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bouquet#16,854bullock#16,857compute#16,868trooper#16,811

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

biking9 variantsboxers9 variantswilder9 variantsVirgil9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list