recklessly

adv

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

"recklessly" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“recklessly” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,433. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,433
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a rash or reckless manner, without regard for cost or consequence

Corpus desk

Index EN-recklessly · recklessly · English

recklessly · rank #29,433 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #29,433
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH recessed

Nearest frequency peer: recessed (-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 “recklessly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “recklessly” 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).

recklessly vs reckless
80% similar

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

Key facts for recklessly
PropertyValue
Headwordrecklessly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters10
Frequency rank#29,433
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “recklessly”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).recklesslylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “recessed” (#29,432), “rayon” (#29,431), “reflux” (#29,435). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “recklessly” is #29,433. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around recklessly, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #29,433 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for recklessly, with forms such as "ercklessly", "rceklessly", and "reccklessly". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "reckless", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English reklesly, from Old English rēcelēaslīce; equivalent to reckless + -ly. The correct English form is recklessly, spelled R-E-C-K-L-E-S-S-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a rash or reckless manner, without regard for cost or consequence
  2. 2
    With contempt for the rights, feelings, or well-being of others.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.
  2. Zoe popped her head up to watch in terror through a little window, as they spread chaos and carnage in their wake, not to mention quite a few broken-off wing mirrors. Burt was driving so recklessly, she was frightened he would kill them both.

Etymology

From Middle English reklesly, from Old English rēcelēaslīce; equivalent to reckless + -ly.

This word in other languages

a troche y moche(Español)leichtsinnig(Deutsch)irresponsavelmente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ercklessly
  • rceklessly
  • reccklessly
  • reckelssly
  • reckklessly
  • reckleslsy
  • recklesly
  • recklesslly
  • recklesslyy
  • recklessyl
  • reckllessly
  • recklsesly
  • reclkessly
  • rekclessly
  • rrecklessly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of recklessly - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ercklessly2rceklessly2reccklessly1reckelssly2reckklessly1reckleslsy2recklesly1recklesslly1
Edit distance from "recklessly"

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 "recklessly"?
"recklessly" is spelled R-E-C-K-L-E-S-S-L-Y.
What does "recklessly" mean?
As an adverb, "recklessly" means: In a rash or reckless manner, without regard for cost or consequence
What words are commonly confused with "recklessly"?
"recklessly" is commonly confused with "reckless". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "recklessly"?
From Middle English reklesly, from Old English rēcelēaslīce; equivalent to reckless + -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 "recklessly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

regionally#29,436perceptive#29,414narcissist#29,391misspelled#29,381

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

thrashing15 variantsmaturation15 variantstranssexual15 variantsmaterialize15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list