severely

adv

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

"severely" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“severely” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,097. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,097
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a severe manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-severely · severely · English

severely · rank #6,097 · 12 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,097
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH senators

Nearest frequency peer: senators (-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 “severely”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “severely” 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).

severely vs severity
75% similar
severely vs severe
75% similar
severely vs several
75% similar

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

Key facts for severely
PropertyValue
Headwordseverely
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters8
Frequency rank#6,097
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “severely”

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).severelylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “senators” (#6,096), “shark” (#6,098), “seemingly” (#6,095). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “severely” is #6,097. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around severely, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #6,097 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In a severe manner.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for severely, with forms such as "esverely", "seevrely", and "seveerly". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "severity", "severe", "several", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From severe + -ly. The correct English form is severely, spelled S-E-V-E-R-E-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a severe manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. After the first day they left her severely alone, their plea to their husbands, her uncompromising independence.
  2. Meanwhile the Christian Church from these speculations has kept itself severely apart - as of course representing a unique and divine revelation little concerned or interested in such heathenisms[.]

Etymology

From severe + -ly.

This word in other languages

severamente(Español)sévèrement(Français)streng(Deutsch)severamente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esverely
  • seevrely
  • seveerly
  • severelly
  • severelyy
  • severeyl
  • severley
  • severrely
  • sevreely
  • sevverely
  • sseverely
  • sveerely

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of severely - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

esverely2seevrely2seveerly2severelly1severelyy1severeyl2severley2severrely1
Edit distance from "severely"

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 "severely"?
"severely" is spelled S-E-V-E-R-E-L-Y.
What does "severely" mean?
As an adverb, "severely" means: In a severe manner.
What words are commonly confused with "severely"?
"severely" is commonly confused with "severity", "severe", "several". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "severely"?
From severe + -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 "severely", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

senators#6,096shocking#6,099resolved#6,092provider#6,087

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Portugal12 variantsmonetary12 variantslaughter12 variantsinnovative12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list