distressingly

adv

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

"distressingly" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“distressingly” is uncommon English (frequency #96,947 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#96,947
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a distressing manner; so as to cause distress.

Corpus desk

Index EN-distressingly · distressingly · English

distressingly · rank #96,947 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #96,947
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dissuading

Nearest frequency peer: dissuading (-1 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “distressingly”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “distressingly” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for distressingly
PropertyValue
Headworddistressingly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters13
Frequency rank#96,947
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “distressingly” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).distressinglylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “dissuading” (#96,946), “dismutase” (#96,944), “dooming” (#96,950). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

distressingly is uncommon English at frequency #96,947 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In a distressing manner; so as to cause distress.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for distressingly in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From distressing + -ly. The correct English form is distressingly, spelled D-I-S-T-R-E-S-S-I-N-G-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a distressing manner; so as to cause distress.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It shook the girl distressingly, but she made no sign; only she took one swift look at Andrew, and noted that he had suddenly changed from a boy into a man, with a brave, grave face.
  2. All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill.[…]Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connexion—or rather as a transition from the subject that started their conversation—such talk had been distressingly out of place.

Etymology

From distressing + -ly.

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 "distressingly"?
"distressingly" is spelled D-I-S-T-R-E-S-S-I-N-G-L-Y.
What does "distressingly" mean?
As an adverb, "distressingly" means: In a distressing manner; so as to cause distress.
What is the origin of the word "distressingly"?
From distressing + -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 "distressingly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

digestibility#96,938extragalactic#97,010consanguinity#96,880butterfingers#96,820

What to do next

You've looked up "distressingly". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #96,947 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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