negatively
"negatively" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“negatively” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,429 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #11,429
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In a negative manner; so as to be damaging or not positive.
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 | negatively |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #11,429 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “negatively” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for negatively is 10 letters long, classified as an adverb. Corpus data places it at rank #11,429 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for negatively, with forms such as "engatively", "neagtively", and "negaitvely". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "negativity", "negative", "natively", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From negative + -ly. The correct English form is negatively, spelled N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E-L-Y.
Definition
- 1In a negative manner; so as to be damaging or not positive.
- 2In the negative; with the answer “no.”
Etymology
From negative + -ly.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: engatively,neagtively,negaitvely,negatievly,negativelly,negativelyy,negativeyl,negativley,negativvely,negattively,negatviely,neggatively,negtaively,ngeatively,nnegatively
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of negatively - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "negatively"?
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Using “negatively”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “negativity” - see the side-by-side comparison. negatively vs negativity
- 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.