stately

/ˈsteɪtli/

//ˈsteɪtli// adj

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

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

The verdict

“stately” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,600. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,600
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Worthy of respect; dignified, regal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stately · stately · English

stately · rank #24,600 · 11 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,600
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH standoff

Nearest frequency peer: standoff (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “stately”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “stately” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

stately vs states
71% similar
stately vs steely
71% similar
stately vs strategy
75% similar

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

Key facts for stately
PropertyValue
Headwordstately
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsteɪtli/
Letters7
Frequency rank#24,600
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “stately” sits in English frequency

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).stately lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around stately (IPA /ˈsteɪtli/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #24,600 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for stately, with forms such as "sattely", "sstately", and "staetly". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "states", "steely", "strategy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English staately, staatly, stateli, statelie, stately, statelyche, statelye, statli, statly. Compare stour. By surface analysis, state + -ly (adjectival suffix). The correct English form is stately, spelled S-T-A-T-E-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Worthy of respect; dignified, regal.
  2. 2
    Deliberate, unhurried; dignified.
  3. 3
    Grand; impressive; imposing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Warwick's first glance had revealed the fact that the young woman was strikingly handsome, with a stately beauty seldom encountered.
  2. And much as they welcome his promise to repeal "don't ask, don't tell", they are dismayed by the stately pace and bungled tactics of his attempts to do so.

Etymology

From Middle English staately, staatly, stateli, statelie, stately, statelyche, statelye, statli, statly. Compare stour. By surface analysis, state + -ly (adjectival suffix).

This word in other languages

majestuoso(Español)imposant(Français)stattlich(Deutsch)majestoso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sattely
  • sstately
  • staetly
  • statelly
  • statelyy
  • stateyl
  • statley
  • stattely
  • sttaely
  • sttately
  • tsately

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stately - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

sattely2sstately1staetly2statelly1statelyy1stateyl2statley2stattely1
Edit distance from "stately"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stately"?
"stately" is spelled S-T-A-T-E-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsteɪtli/.
What does "stately" mean?
As an adjective, "stately" means: Worthy of respect; dignified, regal.
What words are commonly confused with "stately"?
"stately" is commonly confused with "states", "steely", "strategy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stately"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stately" is /ˈsteɪtli/. 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 "stately"?
From Middle English staately, staatly, stateli, statelie, stately, statelyche, statelye, statli, statly. Compare stour. By surface analysis, state + -ly (adjectival suffix). 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 "stately", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

soulful#24,596slowest#24,594synonym#24,607tantrum#24,609

Similar misspelling depth

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

standoff11 variantssizzling11 variantstemplar11 variantsupheaval11 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "stately". Here's where to go from here.

  • "stately" maps to 9 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "states". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #24,600 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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