principally

adv

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

"principally" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“principally” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,215. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,215
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a primary manner; pertaining to the principal of a matter.

Corpus desk

Index EN-principally · principally · English

principally · rank #17,215 · 16 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,215
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH precaution

Nearest frequency peer: precaution (-1 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “principally”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “principally” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

principally vs principal
82% similar
principally vs principality
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for principally
PropertyValue
Headwordprincipally
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters11
Frequency rank#17,215
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “principally”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).principallylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “precaution” (#17,214), “professionalism” (#17,216), “practising” (#17,213). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “principally” is #17,215. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around principally, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #17,215 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In a primary manner; pertaining to the principal of a matter.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for principally, with forms such as "pirncipally", "pprincipally", and "pricnipally". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "principal", "principality", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English principaly. By surface analysis, principal + -ly. The correct English form is principally, spelled P-R-I-N-C-I-P-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a primary manner; pertaining to the principal of a matter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how principally appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The game principally consists in taking and carrying off the ball from the opposite party, after being hurled into the air midway between two high pillars, which are the goasl, and the party who bears off the ball to their pillar, wins the game[…]
  2. Timber, hides, furs, and minerals from the north, and grain and other products from the south and the immediate vicinity of the town itself are brought, principally by river, to this point, where the railway cuts the great central waterway of Siberia.

Etymology

From Middle English principaly. By surface analysis, principal + -ly.

Synonyms

chieflymainlymostlyusually

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pirncipally
  • pprincipally
  • pricnipally
  • princcipally
  • princiaplly
  • principallyy
  • principaly
  • principalyl
  • principlaly
  • princippally
  • princpially
  • prinicpally
  • prinncipally
  • prnicipally
  • prrincipally
  • rpincipally

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of principally - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

pirncipally2pprincipally1pricnipally2princcipally1princiaplly2principallyy1principaly1principalyl2
Edit distance from "principally"

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 "principally"?
"principally" is spelled P-R-I-N-C-I-P-A-L-L-Y.
What does "principally" mean?
As an adverb, "principally" means: In a primary manner; pertaining to the principal of a matter.
What words are commonly confused with "principally"?
"principally" is commonly confused with "principal", "principality". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "principally"?
From Middle English principaly. By surface analysis, principal + -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 "principally", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Smithsonian#17,248articulated#17,293familiarity#17,135extravagant#17,134

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

practising16 variantsskepticism16 variantsBournemouth16 variantscheckpoint16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list