honestly

/ˈɒn.ɪst.li/

//ˈɒn.ɪst.li// adv

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

"honestly" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“honestly” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,075. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,075
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In an honest manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-honestly · honestly · English

honestly · rank #2,075 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,075
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH homes

Nearest frequency peer: homes (-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 “honestly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “honestly” 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).

honestly vs honesty
88% similar
honestly vs honest
75% similar

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

Key facts for honestly
PropertyValue
Headwordhonestly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈɒn.ɪst.li/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,075
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “honestly”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).honestlylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “homes” (#2,074), “honor” (#2,076), “historical” (#2,073). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “honestly” is #2,075. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around honestly (IPA /ˈɒn.ɪst.li/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #2,075 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for honestly, with forms such as "hhonestly", "hnoestly", and "hoenstly". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "honesty", "honest", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English honestly, honestlyche, honestliche, equivalent to honest + -ly. The correct English form is honestly, spelled H-O-N-E-S-T-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In an honest manner.
  2. 2
    Frankly, to be honest.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He answered the questions honestly.
  2. You honestly quit your tools; quit a most muddy confused coil of sore work, short rations, of sorrows, dispiritments and contradictions, having now honestly done with it all; — and await, not entirely in a distracted manner, what the Supreme Powers, and the Silences and the Eternities may have to say to you.

Etymology

From Middle English honestly, honestlyche, honestliche, equivalent to honest + -ly.

Synonyms

candidlyearnestlyfor realfor realsiesforthcominglyfranklygenuinelyhonestlylegitimatelyno capopenlysimplysincerelysinglystraight uptrulytruthfully

Antonyms

falsely

This word in other languages

honestamente(Español)honnêtement(Français)ehrlich(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhonestly
  • hnoestly
  • hoenstly
  • honeslty
  • honesstly
  • honestlly
  • honestlyy
  • honesttly
  • honestyl
  • honetsly
  • honnestly
  • honsetly
  • ohnestly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of honestly - 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.

hhonestly1hnoestly2hoenstly2honeslty2honesstly1honestlly1honestlyy1honesttly1
Edit distance from "honestly"

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 "honestly"?
"honestly" is spelled H-O-N-E-S-T-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒn.ɪst.li/.
What does "honestly" mean?
As an adverb, "honestly" means: In an honest manner.
What words are commonly confused with "honestly"?
"honestly" is commonly confused with "honesty", "honest". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "honestly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "honestly" is /ˈɒn.ɪst.li/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "honestly"?
From Middle English honestly, honestlyche, honestliche, equivalent to honest + -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 "honestly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

domestic#2,070creating#2,068brothers#2,065behavior#2,062

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

expensive13 variantsoriginally13 variantsappearance13 variantsScotland13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list