openly
/ˈoʊpənli/adverb
openly is spelled O-P-E-N-L-Y: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, openly means “In an open manner; visibly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in openly?
| Letters | 6: O-P-E-N-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,957th 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 openly?
Openly appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th 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 openly?
- US /ˈoʊpənli/
Openly has 3 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: En-us-openly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of openly
- more openly comparative
- most openly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does openly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In an open manner; visibly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Openly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in an open manner, visibly, not covertly:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ouvertement |
| German | offen, öffentlich |
| Portuguese | abertamente |
| Spanish | abiertamente, sin tapujos, con luz y taquígrafos |
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 openly come from?
From Middle English openli, from Old English openlīċe. By surface analysis, open + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).