soundly

/ˈsaʊnd.lɪ/

//ˈsaʊnd.lɪ// adv

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

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

The verdict

“soundly” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,238. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,238
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a thorough manner; in manner free of defect or deficiency.

Corpus desk

Index EN-soundly · soundly · English

soundly · rank #30,238 · 11 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,238
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH soiled

Nearest frequency peer: soiled (-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 “soundly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “soundly” 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).

soundly vs sounds
71% similar
soundly vs Sunday
57% similar
soundly vs sundry
71% similar

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

Key facts for soundly
PropertyValue
Headwordsoundly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈsaʊnd.lɪ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#30,238
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “soundly”

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).soundlylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “soiled” (#30,237), “socializing” (#30,236), “sprinkling” (#30,240). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “soundly” is #30,238. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around soundly (IPA /ˈsaʊnd.lɪ/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #30,238 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In a thorough manner; in manner free of defect or deficiency.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for soundly, with forms such as "osundly", "sonudly", and "soudnly". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "sounds", "Sunday", "sundry", 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 Middle English soundly, soundely, from Old English ġesundlīċe (“safely, prosperously, gladly”), equivalent to sound + -ly. Originally meaning "safely", the present sense came in the 16ᵗʰ century. The correct English form is soundly, spelled S-O-U-N-D-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a thorough manner; in manner free of defect or deficiency.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He was soundly thrashed by the semi-professional boxer.
  2. Pro. Let them be hunted ſoundly : At this houre / Lies at my mercy all mine enemies :[…]

Etymology

From Middle English soundly, soundely, from Old English ġesundlīċe (“safely, prosperously, gladly”), equivalent to sound + -ly. Originally meaning "safely", the present sense came in the 16ᵗʰ century.

Synonyms

completelydeeplyfirmlyfullyperfectlyroundlythoroughlytotally

This word in other languages

profundo(Español)fortement(Français)gründlich(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • osundly
  • sonudly
  • soudnly
  • sounddly
  • soundlly
  • soundlyy
  • soundyl
  • sounldy
  • sounndly
  • ssoundly
  • suondly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of soundly - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

osundly2sonudly2soudnly2sounddly1soundlly1soundlyy1soundyl2sounldy2
Edit distance from "soundly"

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 "soundly"?
"soundly" is spelled S-O-U-N-D-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsaʊnd.lɪ/.
What does "soundly" mean?
As an adverb, "soundly" means: In a thorough manner; in manner free of defect or deficiency.
What words are commonly confused with "soundly"?
"soundly" is commonly confused with "sounds", "Sunday", "sundry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "soundly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "soundly" is /ˈsaʊnd.lɪ/. 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 "soundly"?
From Middle English soundly, soundely, from Old English ġesundlīċe (“safely, prosperously, gladly”), equivalent to sound + -ly. Originally meaning "safely", the present sense came in the 16ᵗʰ century. 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 "soundly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

simplex#30,229stunted#30,247Siamese#30,225shearer#30,220

Similar misspelling depth

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

shredder11 variantsRutland11 variantsrhubarb11 variantsrewatch11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list