counterintuitively

adv

"counterintuitively" is a 18-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“counterintuitively” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In a manner contrary to intuition or common sense.

Key facts for counterintuitively
PropertyValue
Headwordcounterintuitively
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “counterintuitively” sits in English frequency

counterintuitively falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

counterintuitively is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In a manner contrary to intuition or common sense.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for counterintuitively in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From counterintuitive + -ly. The correct English form is counterintuitively, spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-I-N-T-U-I-T-I-V-E-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a manner contrary to intuition or common sense.

Etymology

From counterintuitive + -ly.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "counterintuitively"?
"counterintuitively" is spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-I-N-T-U-I-T-I-V-E-L-Y.
What does "counterintuitively" mean?
As an adverb, "counterintuitively" means: In a manner contrary to intuition or common sense.
What is the origin of the word "counterintuitively"?
From counterintuitive + -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.

Using “counterintuitively”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-O-U-N-T-E-R-I-N-T-U-I-T-I-V-E-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list