competently

Name: competently, 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

“competently” has 18 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,284. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,284
frequency rank, English: 5,599
“C” headwords: 18
tracked misspellings: 2
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-competently · competently · English

competently · rank #45,284 · 18 variants · 2 confusables

FREQ-MID #45,284
LEN-MEGA 11 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
VAR-HIGH 18 variants
BOOK-DENSE 5,599
PHOTO-FINISH coldwater

Nearest frequency peer: coldwater (-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.

clowning

54,721
coalesce

54,719
coldwater

54,718
competently

54,717
CONCACAF

54,715
conman

54,714

What this shows “competently” 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).

competently vs competent

82% similar

competently vs competency

82% similar

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

Key facts for competently
Property	Value
Headword	competently
Language	English
Part of speech	Adverb
Letters	11
Frequency rank	#45,284
Misspellings tracked	18
Confusable pairs	2
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “competently”

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

#45,284

#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 “coldwater” (#45,283), “coalesce” (#45,282), “CONCACAF” (#45,286). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “competently” is #45,284. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around competently, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #45,284 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In a competent manner.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for competently, with forms such as "ccompetently", "cmopetently", and "comeptently". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "competent", "competency", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From competent + -ly. The correct English form is competently, spelled C-O-M-P-E-T-E-N-T-L-Y.

Definition

1
In a competent manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

And on the end of the big table sat a pot of chicken and dumplings, the sad but tasty end of a tough red bird who had competently done his roosterly duty all his life, yet through no fault of his own had ended up a criminal.

Etymology

From competent + -ly.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ccompetently
cmopetently
comeptently
commpetently
compeetntly
competenlty
competenntly
competentlly
competentlyy
competenttly
competentyl
competetnly
competnetly
compettently
comppetently
compteently
copmetently
ocmpetently

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "competently"

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 "competently"?

"competently" is spelled C-O-M-P-E-T-E-N-T-L-Y.

What does "competently" mean?

As an adverb, "competently" means: In a competent manner.

What words are commonly confused with "competently"?

"competently" is commonly confused with "competent", "competency". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

What is the origin of the word "competently"?

From competent + -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 "competently", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Cameroonian#45,251 declarative#45,320 alleviation#45,198 Ahmadinejad#45,193

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

decapitation18 variants fibromyalgia18 variants renunciation18 variants recuperation18 variants