controversially

adv

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

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

The verdict

“controversially” has 22 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,344. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,344
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
22
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-controversially · controversially · English

controversially · rank #38,344 · 22 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #38,344
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 22 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH credo

Nearest frequency peer: credo (+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 “controversially”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “controversially” 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).

controversially vs controversial
87% similar

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

Key facts for controversially
PropertyValue
Headwordcontroversially
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters15
Frequency rank#38,344
Misspellings tracked22
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “controversially”

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).controversiallylands 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 “credo” (#38,345), “conjoined” (#38,342), “conde” (#38,341). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “controversially” is #38,344. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 22 spelling variants around controversially, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #38,344 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In a controversial manner.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 22 likely wrong-spelling variants for controversially, with forms such as "ccontroversially", "cnotroversially", and "conntroversially". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "controversial", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From controversial + -ly. The correct English form is controversially, spelled C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-I-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a controversial manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. West Brom came from behind to snatch their first league win at Villa Park since 1979 after Aston Villa's Chris Herd was controversially sent off.
  2. Chirk station closed to goods traffic in 1964 and became unstaffed in the 1970s, before a final blow was dealt in 1987 when the original station building was controversially demolished by the local council.

Etymology

From controversial + -ly.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccontroversially
  • cnotroversially
  • conntroversially
  • conrtoversially
  • contorversially
  • controevrsially
  • controverisally
  • controverrsially
  • controversailly
  • controversiallyy
  • controversialy
  • controversialyl
  • controversilaly
  • controverssially
  • controvesrially
  • controvresially
  • controvversially
  • contrroversially
  • contrvoersially
  • conttroversially
  • cotnroversially
  • ocntroversially

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of controversially - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccontroversially1cnotroversially2conntroversially1conrtoversially2contorversially2controevrsially2controverisally2controverrsially1
Edit distance from "controversially"

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 "controversially"?
"controversially" is spelled C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-I-A-L-L-Y.
What does "controversially" mean?
As an adverb, "controversially" means: In a controversial manner.
What words are commonly confused with "controversially"?
"controversially" is commonly confused with "controversial". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "controversially"?
From controversial + -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 "controversially", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

democratization#38,359transcriptional#38,210philosophically#38,099appropriateness#38,732

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (22 here; floor ≥5).

stratification22 variantsunconscionable22 variantsunrecognizable22 variantsparliamentarian22 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list