specifically
/spɪˈsɪf.ɪ.kli/adverb
specifically is spelled S-P-E-C-I-F-I-C-A-L-L-Y. The wrong spelling people search most is specificly: about 180 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 20 of all searches for the word. Specifically is an adverb meaning “In a specific manner, applying to or naming a particular thing or things, expressly, explicitly”.
How many letters and syllables are in specifically?
| Letters | 12: S-P-E-C-I-F-I-C-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 45 times per million words; the 2,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, specificly, about 180 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell specifically?
Specifically is spelled S-P-E-C-I-F-I-C-A-L-L-Y. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 18 of the searches for specifically in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is specifically?
Specifically appears 45 times per million words in written English, the 2,253rd 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 specifically?
- US /spɪˈsɪf.ɪ.kli/
- US /spəˈsɪf.ɪ.kli/
- /spəˈsəf.ə.kli/
Specifically has 4 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: En-us-specifically.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with specifically?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as specifically from its last stressed vowel (/ɪfɪkli/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of specifically
- more specifically comparative
- most specifically superlative
- especifically
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does specifically mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a specific manner, applying to or naming a particular thing or things, expressly, explicitly.
- 2
For a specific purpose or reason.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate specifically?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of specifically: spec., specif, specif..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Specifically in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense for a specific purpose or reason:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | spécifiquement |
| German | extra |
| Portuguese | especificamente |
| Spanish | específicamente |
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 specifically come from?
From specific + -ally.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).