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orderly

or·der·ly/ˈɔɹdɚli/adjective, noun

orderly is spelled O-R-D-E-R-L-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables (or·der·ly). It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, orderly means “Neat and tidy; possessing order” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in orderly?

Letters7: O-R-D-E-R-L-Y
Syllables3: or·der·ly
In writing2.8 times per million words; the 16,228th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is orderly?

Orderly appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th 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 orderly?

  • US /ˈɔɹdɚli/
  • UK /ˈɔːdəli/

Orderly has 3 syllables, split or·der·ly in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-orderly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of orderly

  • more orderly comparative
  • most orderly superlative
  • orderlies plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does orderly mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Neat and tidy; possessing order.

    He has always kept an orderly kitchen, with nothing out of place.

  2. 2

    Methodical or systematic.

    We live in an orderly universe, where rules govern both the movements of planets and the binding of molecules.

  3. 3

    Peaceful; well-behaved.

    An orderly gathering of citizens stood on the corner awaiting the bus.

  4. 4

    Being on duty; keeping order; conveying orders.

noun

  1. 1

    A hospital attendant given a variety of non-medical duties.

  2. 2

    A soldier who carries out minor tasks for a superior officer.

adverb

  1. 1

    archaicAccording to good order or practice; appropriately, in a well-behaved or orderly (adjective) way.

  2. 2

    obsoleteIn order; in a particular order or succession; with a suitable arrangement.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Orderly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchordonné (neat; tidy; possessing order), planton (soldier who carries out minor tasks for a…)
Germanordentlich, geordnet (neat; tidy; possessing order), organisiert, systematisch (methodical; systematic), Pflegehelfer, Krankenpfleger (hospital attendant given a variety of…)
Spanishordenado (neat; tidy; possessing order), metódico (methodical; systematic), camillero, celador (hospital attendant given a variety of…), pacífico (peaceful; well-behaved)
Portugueseservente (hospital attendant given a variety of…)

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 orderly come from?

From order + -ly.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after orderly