diligently
/ˈdɪlɪd͡ʒ(ə)ntli/
"diligently" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“diligently” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #24,426 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #24,426
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In a diligent manner, with appropriate effort, carefully.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | diligently |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈdɪlɪd͡ʒ(ə)ntli/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #24,426 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “diligently” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for diligently is 10 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɪlɪd͡ʒ(ə)ntli/. Corpus data places it at rank #24,426 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "In a diligent manner, with appropriate effort, carefully.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for diligently, with forms such as "ddiligently", "diilgently", and "dilgiently". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "diligent", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From diligent + -ly. The correct English form is diligently, spelled D-I-L-I-G-E-N-T-L-Y.
Definition
- 1In a diligent manner, with appropriate effort, carefully.
Etymology
From diligent + -ly.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddiligently,diilgently,dilgiently,diliegntly,diligenlty,diligenntly,diligentlly,diligentlyy,diligenttly,diligentyl,diligetnly,diliggently,dilignetly,dilligently,dliigently,idligently
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of diligently - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "diligently"?
What does "diligently" mean?
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Using “diligently”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-L-I-G-E-N-T-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɪlɪd͡ʒ(ə)ntli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “diligent” - see the side-by-side comparison. diligently vs diligent
- 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.