solely
/ˈsoʊl.li/adverb
solely is spelled S-O-L-E-L-Y: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, solely means “Alone; exclusively” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in solely?
| Letters | 6: S-O-L-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 16 times per million words; the 5,121st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is solely?
Solely appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce solely?
- UK /ˈsəʊl.li/
- US /ˈsoʊl.li/
Solely has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-solely.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does solely mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Alone; exclusively.
The new chef was solely responsible for attending the grill.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Solely in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense exclusively:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | uniquement, exclusivement, seulement |
| German | nur, einzig und allein, ausschließlich, exklusiv, allein, alleinig |
| Portuguese | puramente, unicamente, exclusivamente |
| Spanish | únicamente, solamente, exclusivamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does solely come from?
From Middle English soly, sooly, soolly, equivalent to sole + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).