oppositely

adv

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

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

The verdict

“oppositely” is uncommon English (frequency #86,598 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,598
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In an opposite manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-oppositely · oppositely · English

oppositely · rank #86,598 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,598
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Olmos

Nearest frequency peer: Olmos (-3 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.

Long-tail ranks near “oppositely”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “oppositely” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for oppositely
PropertyValue
Headwordoppositely
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters10
Frequency rank#86,598
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “oppositely” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).oppositelyfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Olmos” (#86,595), “orogeny” (#86,601), “Olmec” (#86,594). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “oppositely” is #86,598. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

oppositely is uncommon English at frequency #86,598 among 1,431 “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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pentagonal#86,621peremptory#86,623neurogenic#86,565polyclonal#86,644

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list