mentally

/ˈmɛntəli/

//ˈmɛntəli// adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mentally" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mentally” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,144. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,144
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as opposed to an idea spoken orally.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mentally · mentally · English

mentally · rank #5,144 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,144
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH MD

Nearest frequency peer: MD (-1 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “mentally”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “mentally” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mentally vs mortally
75% similar
mentally vs mental
75% similar
mentally vs McNally
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mentally
PropertyValue
Headwordmentally
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈmɛntəli/
Letters8
Frequency rank#5,144
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mentally”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).mentallylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “MD” (#5,143), “missions” (#5,145), “marijuana” (#5,142). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mentally” is #5,144. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around mentally (IPA /ˈmɛntəli/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #5,144 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as opposed to an idea spoken orally.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for mentally, with forms such as "emntally", "menatlly", and "menntally". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "mortally", "mental", "McNally", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From mental + -ly. The correct English form is mentally, spelled M-E-N-T-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as opposed to an idea spoken orally.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how mentally appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. mentally capable
  2. mentally ill

Etymology

From mental + -ly.

This word in other languages

mentalmente(Español)mentalement(Français)geistig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emntally
  • menatlly
  • menntally
  • mentallyy
  • mentaly
  • mentalyl
  • mentlaly
  • menttally
  • metnally
  • mmentally
  • mnetally

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mentally - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

emntally2menatlly2menntally1mentallyy1mentaly1mentalyl2mentlaly2menttally1
Edit distance from "mentally"

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 "mentally"?
"mentally" is spelled M-E-N-T-A-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɛntəli/.
What does "mentally" mean?
As an adverb, "mentally" means: In a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as opposed to an idea spoken orally.
What words are commonly confused with "mentally"?
"mentally" is commonly confused with "mortally", "mental", "McNally". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mentally"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mentally" is /ˈmɛntəli/. 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 "mentally"?
From mental + -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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mentally", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

missions#5,145opponent#5,147patience#5,150pointing#5,152

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Germans11 variantsgenerous11 variantsregards11 variantstransit11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list