horrendously

/həˈɹɛndəsli/

//həˈɹɛndəsli// adv

"horrendously" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“horrendously” is an uncommon English word, ranked #69,934 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.

#69,934
frequency rank, English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In a horrendous manner.

Key facts for horrendously
PropertyValue
Headwordhorrendously
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/həˈɹɛndəsli/
Letters12
Frequency rank#69,934
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “horrendously” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for horrendously is 12 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /həˈɹɛndəsli/. Corpus data places it at rank #69,934 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "In a horrendous manner.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for horrendously in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From horrendous + -ly. The correct English form is horrendously, spelled H-O-R-R-E-N-D-O-U-S-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a horrendous manner.

Etymology

From horrendous + -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 "horrendously"?
"horrendously" is spelled H-O-R-R-E-N-D-O-U-S-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /həˈɹɛndəsli/.
What does "horrendously" mean?
As an adverb, "horrendously" means: In a horrendous manner.
How do you pronounce "horrendously"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "horrendously" is /həˈɹɛndəsli/. 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 "horrendously"?
From horrendous + -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.

Using “horrendously”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-O-R-R-E-N-D-O-U-S-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /həˈɹɛndəsli/ (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list