indirectly
/ˌɪn.dɪˈɹɛk(t).li/
"indirectly" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“indirectly” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,047 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #11,047
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In an indirect manner.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | indirectly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˌɪn.dɪˈɹɛk(t).li/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #11,047 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “indirectly” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for indirectly is 10 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɪn.dɪˈɹɛk(t).li/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,047 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "In an indirect manner.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for indirectly, with forms such as "idnirectly", "inddirectly", and "indierctly". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "indirect", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English inderectely, indirectly, equivalent to indirect + -ly or in- + directly. The correct English form is indirectly, spelled I-N-D-I-R-E-C-T-L-Y.
Definition
- 1In an indirect manner.
Etymology
From Middle English inderectely, indirectly, equivalent to indirect + -ly or in- + directly.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: idnirectly,inddirectly,indierctly,indircetly,indirecctly,indireclty,indirectlly,indirectlyy,indirecttly,indirectyl,indiretcly,indirrectly,indriectly,inidrectly,inndirectly,nidirectly
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of indirectly - 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.
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 "indirectly"?
What does "indirectly" mean?
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Using “indirectly”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-D-I-R-E-C-T-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɪn.dɪˈɹɛk(t).li/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “indirect” - see the side-by-side comparison. indirectly vs indirect
- 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.