formally
/ˈfɔɹ.mə.li/adverb
formally is spelled F-O-R-M-A-L-L-Y. The wrong spelling people search most is formaly: about 80 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026). Formally is an adverb meaning “In a formal manner”.
How many letters and syllables are in formally?
| Letters | 8: F-O-R-M-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 7,009th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, formaly, about 80 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| 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 do you spell formally?
Formally is spelled F-O-R-M-A-L-L-Y. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure.
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). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is formally?
Formally appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 7,009th 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 formally?
- UK /ˈfɔː.mə.li/
- UK /ˈfɔːm.li/
- US /ˈfɔɹ.mə.li/
Formally 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-formally.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-formally.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with formally
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: formerly (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with formally?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as formally from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹməli/):
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 formally
- more formally comparative
- most formally superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does formally mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a formal manner.
He was dressed too formally for the occasion.
- 2
In accordance with official procedure.
He formally filed a complaint, which involved much paperwork.
- 3
In accordance with rigorous rules.
He proved it formally but gave his students no intuitive feel for the matter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Formally in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a formal manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | formellement |
| Portuguese | formalmente |
| Spanish | formalmente |
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 formally come from?
From formal + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).