swiftly
/ˈswɪftli/adverb
swiftly is spelled S-W-I-F-T-L-Y: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, swiftly means “In a swift manner; quickly; with quick motion or velocity; fleetly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in swiftly?
| Letters | 7: S-W-I-F-T-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 14,106th 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 swiftly?
Swiftly appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th 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 swiftly?
- /ˈswɪftli/
Swiftly has 2 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-swiftly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of swiftly
- swiftlier comparative
- more swiftly comparative
- swiftliest superlative
- most swiftly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does swiftly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a swift manner; quickly; with quick motion or velocity; fleetly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Swiftly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense quickly:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | schnell, flink, behände |
| Portuguese | ligeiro |
| Spanish | rápidamente |
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 swiftly come from?
From Middle English swiftly, swyftely, swiftliche, from Old English swiftlīċe (“swiftly”), equivalent to swift + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).