illegally
/ɪˈliːɡəli/adverb
illegally is spelled I-L-L-E-G-A-L-L-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, illegally means “In a manner contrary to law” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in illegally?
| Letters | 9: I-L-L-E-G-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.4 times per million words; the 8,669th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is illegally?
Illegally appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce illegally?
- /ɪˈliːɡəli/
Illegally has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-illegally.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of illegally
- more illegally comparative
- most illegally superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does illegally mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a manner contrary to law.
He received a ticket for illegally parking next to a fire hydrant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Illegally in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a manner contrary to the law:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | illégalement |
| German | illegal, rechtswidrig, gesetzwidrig, widerrechtlich, ungesetzlich, unrechtmäßig |
| Portuguese | ilegalmente |
| Spanish | ilegalmente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does illegally come from?
From illegal + -ly or il- + legally.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).