sympathetically

/sɪmpəˈθɛtɪk(ə)li/

//sɪmpəˈθɛtɪk(ə)li// adv

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

"sympathetically" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sympathetically” is uncommon English (frequency #52,663 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,663
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Owing to or showing evidence of sympathy, or affinity; happening through or demonstrating correspondences, whether occult or physiological.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sympathetically · sympathetically · English

sympathetically · rank #52,663 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,663
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH switcher

Nearest frequency peer: switcher (-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 “sympathetically”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sympathetically
PropertyValue
Headwordsympathetically
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/sɪmpəˈθɛtɪk(ə)li/
Letters15
Frequency rank#52,663
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sympathetically” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sympatheticallyfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “switcher” (#52,662), “tacking” (#52,664), “tadpole” (#52,665). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sympathetically” is #52,663. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sympathetically is uncommon English at frequency #52,663 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /sɪmpəˈθɛtɪk(ə)li/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for sympathetically, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sympathetical + -ly. The correct English form is sympathetically, spelled S-Y-M-P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Owing to or showing evidence of sympathy, or affinity; happening through or demonstrating correspondences, whether occult or physiological.
  2. 2
    In a manner which demonstrates a sharing in the feelings of others; compassionately.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I feel sure that here before me were assembled those, in whose unhealing hearts the sight of those bleak tablets sympathetically caused the old wounds to bleed afresh.
  2. Still she didn't stir, so he patted her shoulder and added sympathetically, 'Come now, don't take it so much to heart.'

Etymology

From sympathetical + -ly.

This word in other languages

sympathiquement(Français)

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 "sympathetically"?
"sympathetically" is spelled S-Y-M-P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C-A-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪmpəˈθɛtɪk(ə)li/.
What does "sympathetically" mean?
As an adverb, "sympathetically" means: Owing to or showing evidence of sympathy, or affinity; happening through or demonstrating correspondences, whether occult or physiological.
How do you pronounce "sympathetically"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sympathetically" is /sɪmpəˈθɛtɪk(ə)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 "sympathetically"?
From sympathetical + -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 "sympathetically", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 15 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

intellectualism#53,019destabilization#52,267morphologically#53,116reconfiguration#53,202

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list