secondarily
/ˌsɛkənˈdɛɹəli/adverb
secondarily is spelled S-E-C-O-N-D-A-R-I-L-Y: 11 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, secondarily means “With lesser importance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in secondarily?
| Letters | 11: S-E-C-O-N-D-A-R-I-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 59,387th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is secondarily?
Secondarily appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th 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 secondarily?
- /ˌsɛkənˈdɛɹəli/
Secondarily has 5 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Neøn-secondarily.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does secondarily mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
With lesser importance.
Primarily, this will cause deaths; secondarily, it will also cost a lot of money.
- 2
archaicobsoleteSecondly; in the second place.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Secondarily in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of lesser importance:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | secundariamente |
| Spanish | segundariamente, secundariamente |
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 secondarily come from?
From Middle English secundarili. By surface analysis, secondar(i) + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).