cosmetically

adv

"cosmetically" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cosmetically” is uncommon English (frequency #76,671 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,671
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In cosmetic terms; regarding appearance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cosmetically · cosmetically · English

cosmetically · rank #76,671 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,671
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH corsage

Nearest frequency peer: corsage (-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 “cosmetically”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cosmetically
PropertyValue
Headwordcosmetically
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters12
Frequency rank#76,671
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cosmetically” in English

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).cosmeticallyfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “corsage” (#76,670), “counterexample” (#76,674), “copulate” (#76,667). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cosmetically” is #76,671. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cosmetically is uncommon English at frequency #76,671 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In cosmetic terms; regarding appearance.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for cosmetically, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cosmetic + -ally. The correct English form is cosmetically, spelled C-O-S-M-E-T-I-C-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In cosmetic terms; regarding appearance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Chronic venous disease includes cosmetically undesirable telangiectasias, varicose veins, venous ulceration, and claudication.
  2. Agreement has been reached with operator Freightliner for it to be moved, to be cosmetically restored.

Etymology

From cosmetic + -ally.

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 "cosmetically"?
"cosmetically" is spelled C-O-S-M-E-T-I-C-A-L-L-Y.
What does "cosmetically" mean?
As an adverb, "cosmetically" means: In cosmetic terms; regarding appearance.
What is the origin of the word "cosmetically"?
From cosmetic + -ally. 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 "cosmetically", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list