subliminally

/sʌbˈlɪm.ɪ.nə.li/

//sʌbˈlɪm.ɪ.nə.li// adv

"subliminally" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“subliminally” is uncommon English (frequency #81,870 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,870
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a subliminal manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-subliminally · subliminally · English

subliminally · rank #81,870 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,870
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH subletting

Nearest frequency peer: subletting (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “subliminally”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “subliminally” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for subliminally
PropertyValue
Headwordsubliminally
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/sʌbˈlɪm.ɪ.nə.li/
Letters12
Frequency rank#81,870
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “subliminally” in English

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).subliminallyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “subletting” (#81,869), “submersion” (#81,871), “stubblefield” (#81,866). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “subliminally” is #81,870. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

subliminally is uncommon English at frequency #81,870 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /sʌbˈlɪm.ɪ.nə.li/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In a subliminal manner.".

No misspelling variants are generated for subliminally in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From subliminal + -ly. The correct English form is subliminally, spelled S-U-B-L-I-M-I-N-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a subliminal manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Could it be from messages on my TV which I'm getting subliminally?

Etymology

From subliminal + -ly.

This word in other languages

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 "subliminally"?
"subliminally" is spelled S-U-B-L-I-M-I-N-A-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /sʌbˈlɪm.ɪ.nə.li/.
What does "subliminally" mean?
As an adverb, "subliminally" means: In a subliminal manner.
How do you pronounce "subliminally"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "subliminally" is /sʌbˈlɪm.ɪ.nə.li/. 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 "subliminally"?
From subliminal + -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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "subliminally", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list