oppositely

adv

"oppositely" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“oppositely” is uncommon English (frequency #86,598 among 15,494 “O” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,598
frequency rank, English
15,494
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In an opposite manner.

Key facts for oppositely
PropertyValue
Headwordoppositely
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters10
Frequency rank#86,598
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “oppositely” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). oppositely lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

oppositely is uncommon English at frequency #86,598 among 15,494 “O” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In an opposite manner.".

oppositely has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From opposite + -ly. The correct English form is oppositely, spelled O-P-P-O-S-I-T-E-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In an opposite manner.

Etymology

From opposite + -ly.

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 "oppositely"?
"oppositely" is spelled O-P-P-O-S-I-T-E-L-Y.
What does "oppositely" mean?
As an adverb, "oppositely" means: In an opposite manner.
What is the origin of the word "oppositely"?
From opposite + -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.

Using “oppositely”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is O-P-P-O-S-I-T-E-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list