selectively

Name: selectively, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

adv

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“selectively” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,201. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,201
frequency rank, English: 6,566
“S” headwords: 17
tracked misspellings: 2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a selective manner, only affecting or applying to some selected cases.

Corpus desk

Index EN-selectively · selectively · English

selectively · rank #19,201 · 17 variants · 2 confusables

FREQ-MID #19,201
LEN-MEGA 11 letters
VOW-5 5 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
VAR-HIGH 17 variants
BOOK-DENSE 6,566
PHOTO-FINISH seizing

Nearest frequency peer: seizing (-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.

scumbag

80,803
seams

80,802
seizing

80,801
selectively

80,800
sensed

80,799
shred

80,798

What this shows “selectively” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

selectively vs selectivity

82% similar

selectively vs selective

82% similar

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

Key facts for selectively
Property	Value
Headword	selectively
Language	English
Part of speech	Adverb
Letters	11
Frequency rank	#19,201
Misspellings tracked	17
Confusable pairs	2
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “selectively”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).selectivelylands here:

#19,201

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “seizing” (#19,200), “sensed” (#19,202), “seams” (#19,199). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “selectively” is #19,201. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around selectively, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #19,201 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In a selective manner, only affecting or applying to some selected cases.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for selectively, with forms such as "eslectively", "seelctively", and "selcetively". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "selectivity", "selective", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From selective + -ly. The correct English form is selectively, spelled S-E-L-E-C-T-I-V-E-L-Y.

Definition

1
In a selective manner, only affecting or applying to some selected cases.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

Our prototype implements a basic pharming attack to selectively misresolve the client domain name requests.

Etymology

From selective + -ly.

This word in other languages

seletivamente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

eslectively
seelctively
selcetively
selecctively
selecitvely
selectievly
selectivelly
selectivelyy
selectiveyl
selectivley
selectivvely
selecttively
selectviely
seletcively
sellectively
sleectively
sselectively

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "selectively"

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 "selectively"?

"selectively" is spelled S-E-L-E-C-T-I-V-E-L-Y.

What does "selectively" mean?

As an adverb, "selectively" means: In a selective manner, only affecting or applying to some selected cases.

What words are commonly confused with "selectively"?

"selectively" is commonly confused with "selectivity", "selective". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

What is the origin of the word "selectively"?

From selective + -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 "selectively", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

supervisory#19,221 treacherous#19,235 undermining#19,238 perpetrator#19,163

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

psychopath17 variants preparedness17 variants versatility17 variants attributable17 variants