modestly

adv

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

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

The verdict

“modestly” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,890. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,890
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a modest manner; with humility.

Corpus desk

Index EN-modestly · modestly · English

modestly · rank #26,890 · 13 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,890
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH moniker

Nearest frequency peer: moniker (+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 “modestly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “modestly” 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).

modestly vs mostly
75% similar
modestly vs modesty
88% similar
modestly vs Modesto
63% similar

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

Key facts for modestly
PropertyValue
Headwordmodestly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters8
Frequency rank#26,890
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “modestly”

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).modestlylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “moniker” (#26,891), “Morrissey” (#26,892), “mistrust” (#26,887). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “modestly” is #26,890. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around modestly, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #26,890 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for modestly, with forms such as "mdoestly", "mmodestly", and "moddestly". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "mostly", "modesty", "Modesto", 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 modest + -ly. The correct English form is modestly, spelled M-O-D-E-S-T-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a modest manner; with humility.
  2. 2
    To a small degree.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The man bowed modestly and left the dinner table.
  2. An hour later, Trump and Starmer were gathered in the modestly named Donald J Trump Ballroom for the press conference proper.

Etymology

From modest + -ly.

This word in other languages

modestement(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mdoestly
  • mmodestly
  • moddestly
  • modeslty
  • modesstly
  • modestlly
  • modestlyy
  • modesttly
  • modestyl
  • modetsly
  • modsetly
  • moedstly
  • omdestly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of modestly - 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.

mdoestly2mmodestly1moddestly1modeslty2modesstly1modestlly1modestlyy1modesttly1
Edit distance from "modestly"

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 "modestly"?
"modestly" is spelled M-O-D-E-S-T-L-Y.
What does "modestly" mean?
As an adverb, "modestly" means: In a modest manner; with humility.
What words are commonly confused with "modestly"?
"modestly" is commonly confused with "mostly", "modesty", "Modesto". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "modestly"?
From modest + -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 "modestly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

mistrust#26,887mainstay#26,876mainline#26,875parkland#26,909

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

needlessly13 variantsPensacola13 variantsplunging13 variantsregaining13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list