illy
"illy" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“illy” is uncommon English (frequency #70,767 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #70,767
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Badly; poorly.
Corpus desk
Index EN-illy · illy · English
illy · rank #70,767 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #70,767
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH impertinence
Nearest frequency peer: impertinence (+2 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 “illy”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- hyoid
hyoid
29,240 corpus weight
- hyperdrive
hyperdrive
29,239 corpus weight
- illy
illy
29,234 corpus weight
- impertinence
impertinence
29,232 corpus weight
- impregnation
impregnation
29,231 corpus weight
- indexation
indexation
29,229 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “illy” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | illy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #70,767 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “illy” in English
Rare enough to double-check
illy is uncommon English at frequency #70,767 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Badly; poorly.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for illy in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From ill + -ly. The correct English form is illy, spelled I-L-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Badly; poorly.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how illy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The domestic presence of Lucy had begun to produce a remarkable effect upon Pierre. Sometimes, to the covertly watchful eye of Isabel, he would seem to look upon Lucy with an expression illy befitting their singular and so-supposed merely cousinly relation; […]
Nor was this less ominous than the rattle of musketry, for it suggested but a single solution to the little band of rescuers—that the illy garrisoned village had already succumbed to the onslaught of a superior force.
Etymology
From ill + -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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "illy", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).