frightfully
/ˈfɹaɪtfəli/
"frightfully" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“frightfully” is an uncommon English word, ranked #62,154 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #62,154
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In a frightful manner.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | frightfully |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈfɹaɪtfəli/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #62,154 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “frightfully” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for frightfully is 11 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɹaɪtfəli/. Corpus data places it at rank #62,154 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for frightfully in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From frightful + -ly. The correct English form is frightfully, spelled F-R-I-G-H-T-F-U-L-L-Y.
Definition
- 1In a frightful manner.
- 2Very, extremely.
Etymology
From frightful + -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 "frightfully"?
What does "frightfully" mean?
How do you pronounce "frightfully"?
What is the origin of the word "frightfully"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “frightfully”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-R-I-G-H-T-F-U-L-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɹaɪtfəli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.