bluntly

/ˈblʌntli/

//ˈblʌntli// adv

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

The verdict

“bluntly” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,345. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,345
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a blunt manner; without delicacy, or the usual forms of civility.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bluntly · bluntly · English

bluntly · rank #26,345 · 12 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,345
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH blob

Nearest frequency peer: blob (-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 “bluntly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “bluntly” 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).

bluntly vs bounty
71% similar
bluntly vs blunt
71% similar
bluntly vs blindly
71% similar

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

Key facts for bluntly
PropertyValue
Headwordbluntly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈblʌntli/
Letters7
Frequency rank#26,345
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bluntly”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).bluntlylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “blob” (#26,344), “Bohemia” (#26,346), “Bonaparte” (#26,347). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bluntly” is #26,345. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around bluntly (IPA /ˈblʌntli/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #26,345 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In a blunt manner; without delicacy, or the usual forms of civility.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for bluntly, with forms such as "bbluntly", "blluntly", and "blnutly". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "bounty", "blunt", "blindly", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From blunt + -ly. The correct English form is bluntly, spelled B-L-U-N-T-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a blunt manner; without delicacy, or the usual forms of civility.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Note the preſumption of this Scythian ſlaue: I tel thee villaine, thoſe that lead my horſe Haue to their names tytles of dignitie, And dar’ſt thou bluntly cal me Baiazeth?
  2. To put it bluntly, they are going to have to start defending a heck of a lot better than they have been, otherwise their season - and top-flight status - could well be over before they know it.

Etymology

From blunt + -ly.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbluntly
  • blluntly
  • blnutly
  • blunlty
  • blunntly
  • bluntlly
  • bluntlyy
  • blunttly
  • bluntyl
  • blutnly
  • bulntly
  • lbuntly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bluntly - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbluntly1blluntly1blnutly2blunlty2blunntly1bluntlly1bluntlyy1blunttly1
Edit distance from "bluntly"

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 "bluntly"?
"bluntly" is spelled B-L-U-N-T-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblʌntli/.
What does "bluntly" mean?
As an adverb, "bluntly" means: In a blunt manner; without delicacy, or the usual forms of civility.
What words are commonly confused with "bluntly"?
"bluntly" is commonly confused with "bounty", "blunt", "blindly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bluntly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bluntly" is /ˈblʌntli/. 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 "bluntly"?
From blunt + -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 "bluntly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list