shapely

/ˈʃeɪpli/

//ˈʃeɪpli// adj

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

"shapely" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shapely” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #49,631. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#49,631
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a pleasing shape, pleasant to look at.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shapely · shapely · English

shapely · rank #49,631 · 11 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #49,631
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shackle

Nearest frequency peer: shackle (-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 “shapely”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “shapely” 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).

shapely vs shapes
71% similar
shapely vs shaper
71% similar
shapely vs sharply
71% similar

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

Key facts for shapely
PropertyValue
Headwordshapely
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈʃeɪpli/
Letters7
Frequency rank#49,631
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shapely”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).shapelylands here:

#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 “shackle” (#49,630), “shellac” (#49,632), “sevenfold” (#49,628). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shapely” is #49,631. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around shapely (IPA /ˈʃeɪpli/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #49,631 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Having a pleasing shape, pleasant to look at.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for shapely, with forms such as "hsapely", "sahpely", and "shaeply". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "shapes", "shaper", "sharply", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English schaply, schappely (“well-shaped, beautiful, attractive”), perhaps from Old English *ġesċeaplīċ (“according to design, proper, fit”) (suggested by Old English ġesċeaplīċe (“properly, fitting, well”)), equivalent to shape + -ly. The correct English form is shapely, spelled S-H-A-P-E-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a pleasing shape, pleasant to look at.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The more solicitous of the two was Nurse Cramer, a shapely, pretty, sexless girl with a wholesome unattractive face.
  2. It used to be, whenever Frank passed a rival butcher’s window (and later the curved glass of a supermarket meat counter), he would peer in unjealously, looking for the subtleties that spoke of talent with a knife. Were their fillets shapely?

Etymology

From Middle English schaply, schappely (“well-shaped, beautiful, attractive”), perhaps from Old English *ġesċeaplīċ (“according to design, proper, fit”) (suggested by Old English ġesċeaplīċe (“properly, fitting, well”)), equivalent to shape + -ly.

Synonyms

shapelywell set

Antonyms

amorphousmisshapen

This word in other languages

torneado(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsapely
  • sahpely
  • shaeply
  • shapelly
  • shapelyy
  • shapeyl
  • shapley
  • shappely
  • shhapely
  • shpaely
  • sshapely

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hsapely2sahpely2shaeply2shapelly1shapelyy1shapeyl2shapley2shappely1
Edit distance from "shapely"

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 "shapely"?
"shapely" is spelled S-H-A-P-E-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃeɪpli/.
What does "shapely" mean?
As an adjective, "shapely" means: Having a pleasing shape, pleasant to look at.
What words are commonly confused with "shapely"?
"shapely" is commonly confused with "shapes", "shaper", "sharply". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shapely"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shapely" is /ˈʃeɪpli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "shapely"?
From Middle English schaply, schappely (“well-shaped, beautiful, attractive”), perhaps from Old English *ġesċeaplīċ (“according to design, proper, fit”) (suggested by Old English ġesċeaplīċe (“properly, fitting, well”)), equivalent to shape + -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 "shapely", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shackle#49,630shellac#49,632skirted#49,637sealant#49,624

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

stilted11 variantsSumitomo11 variantssupplant11 variantsrostrum11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list