bigly
/ˈbɪɡ.li/
"bigly" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bigly” is uncommon English (frequency #61,310 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #61,310
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a big way, greatly; to a great extent, on a large scale.
Corpus desk
Index EN-bigly · bigly · English
bigly · rank #61,310 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #61,310
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH Billington
Nearest frequency peer: Billington (+2 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 “bigly”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Bergin
Bergin
38,694 corpus weight
- bigly
bigly
38,691 corpus weight
- Billington
Billington
38,689 corpus weight
- binaural
binaural
38,688 corpus weight
- bindi
bindi
38,687 corpus weight
- bioactive
bioactive
38,686 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “bigly” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bigly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈbɪɡ.li/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #61,310 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “bigly” in English
Rare enough to double-check
bigly is uncommon English at frequency #61,310 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /ˈbɪɡ.li/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
bigly has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bygly, byggly, biggely. By surface analysis, big (“of great size, large (adjective); to a large extent, on a large scale; hard (adverb)”) + -ly. The correct English form is bigly, spelled B-I-G-L-Y.
Definition
- 1In a big way, greatly; to a great extent, on a large scale.
- 2Strongly, with great force.
- 3In a blustering or boastful manner; haughtily, pompously.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how bigly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He looked at Mrs. Harling, who loomed bigly in the dull light.
Big Bessie's feet hurt like nobody's business, / but she stands—bigly—under the unruly scrutiny, stands in the wild weed.
Etymology
From Middle English bygly, byggly, biggely. By surface analysis, big (“of great size, large (adjective); to a large extent, on a large scale; hard (adverb)”) + -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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bigly", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).