condescendingly

/kɒn.dɪˈsɛn.dɪŋ.li/

//kɒn.dɪˈsɛn.dɪŋ.li// adv

"condescendingly" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“condescendingly” is uncommon English (frequency #76,660 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,660
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-condescendingly · condescendingly · English

condescendingly · rank #76,660 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,660
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH communally

Nearest frequency peer: communally (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “condescendingly”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “condescendingly” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for condescendingly
PropertyValue
Headwordcondescendingly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/kɒn.dɪˈsɛn.dɪŋ.li/
Letters15
Frequency rank#76,660
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “condescendingly” in English

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).condescendinglyfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “communally” (#76,659), “congealed” (#76,662), “Conran” (#76,663). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “condescendingly” is #76,660. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

condescendingly is uncommon English at frequency #76,660 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /kɒn.dɪˈsɛn.dɪŋ.li/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In a condescending manner.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for condescendingly in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From condescending + -ly. The correct English form is condescendingly, spelled C-O-N-D-E-S-C-E-N-D-I-N-G-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a condescending manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […]; and as there was some perilous probability, in the event of the Colonel and Coloneless saying ‘no,’ of the Captain’s proposing to Miss De Fudgeville, orphan daughter and heiress of the late Rear-Admiral De Fudgeville, who, though she was as ugly as sin, and had something the matter with her spine, had a fortune of ninety thousand pounds, the gallant…
  2. He wore his strange and colourful clothes as if for inspection by a lesser being: condescendingly, casually.

Etymology

From condescending + -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

How do you spell "condescendingly"?
"condescendingly" is spelled C-O-N-D-E-S-C-E-N-D-I-N-G-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /kɒn.dɪˈsɛn.dɪŋ.li/.
What does "condescendingly" mean?
As an adverb, "condescendingly" means: In a condescending manner.
How do you pronounce "condescendingly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "condescendingly" is /kɒn.dɪˈsɛn.dɪŋ.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 "condescendingly"?
From condescending + -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 "condescendingly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 15 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list