madly
/ˈmædli/adverb
madly is spelled M-A-D-L-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, madly means “without reason or understanding; wildly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in madly?
| Letters | 5: M-A-D-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd 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 madly?
Madly appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd 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 madly?
- /ˈmædli/
Madly has 2 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-madly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of madly
- madlier comparative
- more madly comparative
- madliest superlative
- most madly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does madly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
without reason or understanding; wildly.
I'm madly in love with you.
- 2
angrily
Diane screamed madly down the phone to the prank caller.
- 3
extremely surprisingly or unexpectedly
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Madly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a mad manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | follement |
| German | wie verrückt |
| Portuguese | loucamente |
| Spanish | alocadamente |
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 madly come from?
From Middle English madly, madli, medliche, equivalent to mad + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).