direly
adverb
direly is spelled D-I-R-E-L-Y: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, direly means “In a dire manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in direly?
| Letters | 6: D-I-R-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 31 million words; the 169,822nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is direly?
Direly appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd 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).
What rhymes with direly?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as direly.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ridley.
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 direly
- more direly comparative
- most direly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does direly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a dire manner
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does direly come from?
From dire + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).