criminally

adv

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

"criminally" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“criminally” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,716. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,716
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-criminally · criminally · English

criminally · rank #24,716 · 14 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,716
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cookery

Nearest frequency peer: cookery (-2 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 “criminally”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “criminally” 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).

criminally vs criminals
80% similar
criminally vs critically
80% similar
criminally vs criminal
80% similar

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

Key facts for criminally
PropertyValue
Headwordcriminally
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters10
Frequency rank#24,716
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “criminally”

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).criminallylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “cookery” (#24,714), “contraband” (#24,713), “custodian” (#24,719). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “criminally” is #24,716. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around criminally, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #24,716 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In a criminal manner.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for criminally, with forms such as "ccriminally", "cirminally", and "criimnally". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "criminals", "critically", "criminal", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From criminal + -ly. The correct English form is criminally, spelled C-R-I-M-I-N-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a criminal manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The move will transfer the facility’s more than 200 prisoners, including 50 deemed criminally insane, from a fortresslike building with bars on the windows and cement walls and ceilings into a unit of Manhattan Psychiatric Center, a civilian hospital close by on Wards Island.

Etymology

From criminal + -ly.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccriminally
  • cirminally
  • criimnally
  • crimianlly
  • criminallyy
  • criminaly
  • criminalyl
  • criminlaly
  • criminnally
  • crimminally
  • crimnially
  • crmiinally
  • crriminally
  • rciminally

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccriminally1cirminally2criimnally2crimianlly2criminallyy1criminaly1criminalyl2criminlaly2
Edit distance from "criminally"

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

contraband#24,713contesting#24,712decisively#24,722confluence#24,708

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

consented14 variantscomforted14 variantsdormitory14 variantsethnically14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list