relatively
[ˈɹɛl.ə.tʰɪv.li]adverb
relatively is spelled R-E-L-A-T-I-V-E-L-Y. The wrong spelling people search most is relativly: about 60 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 15 of all searches for the word. Relatively is an adverb meaning “In a relative manner; with reference to environment or competition; contextually or comparatively”.
How many letters and syllables are in relatively?
| Letters | 10: R-E-L-A-T-I-V-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 46 times per million words; the 2,204th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, relativly, about 60 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell relatively?
Relatively is spelled R-E-L-A-T-I-V-E-L-Y. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 13 of the searches for relatively in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is relatively?
Relatively appears 46 times per million words in written English, the 2,204th 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 relatively?
- /ˈɹɛl.ə.tɪv.li/
- US [ˈɹɛl.ə.tʰɪv.li]
- US [ˈɹɛl.ə.ɾɪv.li]
Relatively has 4 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: En-US_relatively.ogg, En-US_relatively_(flapped).ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with relatively
Also written: relative.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of relatively
- relative US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does relatively mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a relative manner; with reference to environment or competition; contextually or comparatively.
- 2
proscribedSomewhat; fairly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Relatively in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense proportionally:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | relativ, verhältnismäßig |
| Portuguese | relativamente |
| Spanish | relativamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does relatively come from?
From relative + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).