skillfully

adv

"skillfully" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“skillfully” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #35,517 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.

#35,517
frequency rank, English
10
letters
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In a skillful manner; with skill.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

skillfully vs skillful
80% similar

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

Key facts for skillfully
PropertyValue
Headwordskillfully
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters10
Frequency rank#35,517
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “skillfully” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for skillfully is 10 letters long, classified as an adverb. Corpus data places it at rank #35,517 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "In a skillful manner; with skill.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for skillfully, with forms such as "ksillfully", "sikllfully", and "skilflully". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "skillful", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English skilfully, skylfully, skilfulliche, equivalent to skillful + -ly. The correct English form is skillfully, spelled S-K-I-L-L-F-U-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a skillful manner; with skill.

Etymology

From Middle English skilfully, skylfully, skilfulliche, equivalent to skillful + -ly.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ksillfully,sikllfully,skilflully,skilfully,skillffully,skillfluly,skillfullyy,skillfuly,skillfulyl,skilluflly,skkillfully,sklilfully,sskillfully

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ksillfully2sikllfully2skilflully2skilfully1skillffully1skillfluly2skillfullyy1skillfuly1
Edit distance from "skillfully"

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 "skillfully"?
"skillfully" is spelled S-K-I-L-L-F-U-L-L-Y.
What does "skillfully" mean?
As an adverb, "skillfully" means: In a skillful manner; with skill.
What words are commonly confused with "skillfully"?
"skillfully" is commonly confused with "skillful". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "skillfully"?
From Middle English skilfully, skylfully, skilfulliche, equivalent to skillful + -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.

Using “skillfully”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-K-I-L-L-F-U-L-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “skillful” - see the side-by-side comparison. skillfully vs skillful
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list