shyly

adv

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

"shyly" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shyly” is uncommon English (frequency #58,363 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,363
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-shyly · shyly · English

shyly · rank #58,363 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,363
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Shyam

Nearest frequency peer: Shyam (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “shyly”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “shyly” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for shyly
PropertyValue
Headwordshyly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters5
Frequency rank#58,363
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “shyly” in English

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

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Shyam” (#58,362), “signora” (#58,364), “sinusitis” (#58,365). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shyly” is #58,363. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

shyly is uncommon English at frequency #58,363 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In a shy manner.".

shyly doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From shy + -ly. The correct English form is shyly, spelled S-H-Y-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a shy manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The moon went slowly down in chastened loveliness; she departed like some sweet bride into her chamber, and long veil-like shadows crept up the sky through which the stars peeped shyly out.

Etymology

From shy + -ly.

This word in other languages

tímidamente(Español)timidement(Français)timidamente(Português)

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 "shyly"?
"shyly" is spelled S-H-Y-L-Y.
What does "shyly" mean?
As an adverb, "shyly" means: In a shy manner.
What is the origin of the word "shyly"?
From shy + -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 "shyly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Shyam#58,362skint#58,367Suggs#58,394Sumer#58,395

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list