frivolously

adv

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

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

The verdict

“frivolously” is uncommon English (frequency #98,139 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,139
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a frivolous manner

Corpus desk

Index EN-frivolously · frivolously · English

frivolously · rank #98,139 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,139
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH Fripp

Nearest frequency peer: Fripp (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “frivolously”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “frivolously” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for frivolously
PropertyValue
Headwordfrivolously
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters11
Frequency rank#98,139
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “frivolously” in English

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).frivolouslyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Fripp” (#98,138), “fratricide” (#98,135), “fusible” (#98,143). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “frivolously” is #98,139. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

frivolously is uncommon English at frequency #98,139 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In a frivolous manner".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for frivolously, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From frivolous + -ly. The correct English form is frivolously, spelled F-R-I-V-O-L-O-U-S-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a frivolous manner

Etymology

From frivolous + -ly.

This word in other languages

frívolamente(Español)

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 "frivolously"?
"frivolously" is spelled F-R-I-V-O-L-O-U-S-L-Y.
What does "frivolously" mean?
As an adverb, "frivolously" means: In a frivolous manner
What is the origin of the word "frivolously"?
From frivolous + -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 "frivolously", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Forestville#98,129generalship#98,155facetiously#98,101enterovirus#98,076

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list