quietly

/ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/

//ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li// adv

"quietly" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“quietly” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,620 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.

#5,620
frequency rank, English
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

quietly vs quiet
71% similar
quietly vs quickly
71% similar
quietly vs quieter
71% similar

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

Key facts for quietly
PropertyValue
Headwordquietly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,620
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “quietly” 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). quietly lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for quietly is 7 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,620 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "In a quiet manner.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for quietly, with forms such as "qiuetly", "qquietly", and "queitly". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "quiet", "quickly", "quieter", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English quietely, quyetly, equivalent to quiet + -ly. The correct English form is quietly, spelled Q-U-I-E-T-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a quiet manner.

Etymology

From Middle English quietely, quyetly, equivalent to quiet + -ly.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: qiuetly,qquietly,queitly,quielty,quietlly,quietlyy,quiettly,quietyl,quitely,uqietly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of quietly - 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.

qiuetly2qquietly1queitly2quielty2quietlly1quietlyy1quiettly1quietyl2
Edit distance from "quietly"

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 "quietly"?
"quietly" is spelled Q-U-I-E-T-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/.
What does "quietly" mean?
As an adverb, "quietly" means: In a quiet manner.
What words are commonly confused with "quietly"?
"quietly" is commonly confused with "quiet", "quickly", "quieter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "quietly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quietly" is /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "quietly"?
From Middle English quietely, quyetly, equivalent to quiet + -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 “quietly”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is Q-U-I-E-T-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “quiet” - see the side-by-side comparison. quietly vs quiet
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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