pointedly
adverb
pointedly is spelled P-O-I-N-T-E-D-L-Y: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, pointedly means “Explicitly; with emphasis; so as to make a point, especially with criticism” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pointedly?
| Letters | 9: P-O-I-N-T-E-D-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th 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 pointedly?
Pointedly appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th 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 pointedly?
- US
Pointedly 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-pointedly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pointedly
- more pointedly comparative
- most pointedly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pointedly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Explicitly; with emphasis; so as to make a point, especially with criticism.
- 2
obsoleteWittily or pithily.
- 3
Markedly, intentionally conspicuously.
I was pointedly ignored.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does pointedly come from?
From pointed + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).