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PlainSpell

directly

/dɪˈɹɛk(t).li/adverb, conjunction

directly is spelled D-I-R-E-C-T-L-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 79 times per million words in written English, the 1,338th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “directly vs indirectly” about 10 times a month (Bing, United States). As an adverb, directly means “In a direct manner; in a straight line or course” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in directly?

Letters8: D-I-R-E-C-T-L-Y
Syllables3 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing79 times per million words; the 1,338th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is directly?

Directly appears 79 times per million words in written English, the 1,338th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce directly?

  • US /dɪˈɹɛk(t).li/
  • US /daɪˈɹɛk(t).li/
  • Australia /dɪˈɹek(t).li/

Directly has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-directly.ogg, En-ca-directly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with directly

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

directly vs indirectly10 B

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with directly?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as directly from its last stressed vowel (/ɛkli/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of directly

  • more directly comparative
  • most directly superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does directly mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adverb

  1. 1

    In a direct manner; in a straight line or course.

    He drove directly to the office, and didn't stop off at the petrol station.

  2. 2

    In a straightforward way; without anything intervening; not by secondary but by direct means.

    I'm sick of asking you to fire him; I'll just do it directly.

  3. 3

    Plainly, without circumlocution or ambiguity; absolutely; in express terms.

    I'm going to tell Natalie directly that I love her.

  4. 4

    Exactly; just; at the shortest possible distance.

    It's directly across the street.

  5. 5

    Straightforwardly; honestly.

    He told me directly that he'd cheated on me, and how sorry he was for it.

  6. 6

    datedImmediately.

  7. 7

    datedSoon; next; in due time; as soon as it becomes convenient.

    We'll go to the store directly, but first I need to finish sweeping.

conjunction

  1. 1

    BritishAs soon as; immediately (elliptical for directly that/as/when)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate directly?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of directly: dir.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Directly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchdirectement (in a direct manner)
Germandirekt, gerade (in a direct manner), unmittelbar (in a straightforward way)
Portuguesediretamente (in a direct manner)
Spanishdirectamente, en derechura, directe (in a direct manner)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does directly come from?

From direct + -ly.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after directly