reciprocally

adv

"reciprocally" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“reciprocally” is uncommon English (frequency #90,889 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#90,889
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a reciprocal manner; by way of returning (e.g. a favour, insult, etc).

Corpus desk

Index EN-reciprocally · reciprocally · English

reciprocally · rank #90,889 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #90,889
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Reale

Nearest frequency peer: Reale (-2 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 “reciprocally”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for reciprocally
PropertyValue
Headwordreciprocally
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters12
Frequency rank#90,889
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “reciprocally” in English

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).reciprocallyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Reale” (#90,887), “Redruth” (#90,892), “Rauschenberg” (#90,883). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “reciprocally” is #90,889. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

reciprocally is uncommon English at frequency #90,889 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In a reciprocal manner; by way of returning (e.g. a favour, insult, etc).".

reciprocally has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From reciprocal + -ly. The correct English form is reciprocally, spelled R-E-C-I-P-R-O-C-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a reciprocal manner; by way of returning (e.g. a favour, insult, etc).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In the process of production, human beings work not only upon nature, but also upon one another. They produce only by working together in a specified manner and reciprocally exchanging their activities.
  2. When younger brother calls [his elder brother's wife] his "co-wife" and reciprocally, when she calls him co-husband," rights in sexuality are being satirized.

Etymology

From reciprocal + -ly.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

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 "reciprocally"?
"reciprocally" is spelled R-E-C-I-P-R-O-C-A-L-L-Y.
What does "reciprocally" mean?
As an adverb, "reciprocally" means: In a reciprocal manner; by way of returning (e.g. a favour, insult, etc).
What is the origin of the word "reciprocally"?
From reciprocal + -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 "reciprocally", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list