fortnightly

adj

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

"fortnightly" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fortnightly” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,847. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,847
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
19
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Occurring once in a fortnight; once every two weeks.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fortnightly · fortnightly · English

fortnightly · rank #38,847 · 19 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #38,847
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH Formosa

Nearest frequency peer: Formosa (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “fortnightly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “fortnightly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fortnightly vs fortnight
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fortnightly
PropertyValue
Headwordfortnightly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters11
Frequency rank#38,847
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fortnightly”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).fortnightlylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Formosa” (#38,846), “foreshadowing” (#38,845), “freshest” (#38,849). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fortnightly” is #38,847. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around fortnightly, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #38,847 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Occurring once in a fortnight; once every two weeks.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for fortnightly, with forms such as "ffortnightly", "forntightly", and "forrtnightly". 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, "fortnight", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From fortnight + -ly. The correct English form is fortnightly, spelled F-O-R-T-N-I-G-H-T-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Occurring once in a fortnight; once every two weeks.

Etymology

From fortnight + -ly.

This word in other languages

bisemanal(Español)bimensuel(Français)zweiwöchentlich(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffortnightly
  • forntightly
  • forrtnightly
  • fortinghtly
  • fortngihtly
  • fortnigghtly
  • fortnighhtly
  • fortnighlty
  • fortnightlly
  • fortnightlyy
  • fortnighttly
  • fortnightyl
  • fortnigthly
  • fortnihgtly
  • fortnnightly
  • forttnightly
  • fotrnightly
  • frotnightly
  • ofrtnightly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fortnightly - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ffortnightly1forntightly2forrtnightly1fortinghtly2fortngihtly2fortnigghtly1fortnighhtly1fortnighlty2
Edit distance from "fortnightly"

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 "fortnightly"?
"fortnightly" is spelled F-O-R-T-N-I-G-H-T-L-Y.
What does "fortnightly" mean?
As an adjective, "fortnightly" means: Occurring once in a fortnight; once every two weeks.
What words are commonly confused with "fortnightly"?
"fortnightly" is commonly confused with "fortnight". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "fortnightly"?
From fortnight + -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 "fortnightly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

excellently#38,831elaborately#38,820hyperactive#38,892identically#38,896

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

heterogeneity19 variantsinconspicuous19 variantsinhospitable19 variantsappropriateness19 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list