thusly

/ˈðʌs.li/

//ˈðʌs.li// adv

"thusly" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thusly” is uncommon English (frequency #62,572 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,572
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - thus (in this way).

Corpus desk

Index EN-thusly · thusly · English

thusly · rank #62,572 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,572
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Thucydides

Nearest frequency peer: Thucydides (-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 “thusly”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for thusly
PropertyValue
Headwordthusly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈðʌs.li/
Letters6
Frequency rank#62,572
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “thusly” 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).thuslyfalls 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: “Thucydides” (#62,571), “tilling” (#62,573), “Thibodeau” (#62,570). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “thusly” is #62,572. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

thusly is uncommon English at frequency #62,572 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /ˈðʌs.li/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

thusly has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From thus + -ly, dating from the 19th century, seemingly coined by educated writers to make fun of uneducated persons trying to sound genteel, with a false inference that thus is not an adverb. The correct English form is thusly, spelled T-H-U-S-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    thus (in this way).
  2. 2
    thus (therefore)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ar, tell me it is not so thusly as this thusness wouldst seem!
  2. His course can only be akkounted for thusly:

Etymology

From thus + -ly, dating from the 19th century, seemingly coined by educated writers to make fun of uneducated persons trying to sound genteel, with a false inference that thus is not an adverb.

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 "thusly"?
"thusly" is spelled T-H-U-S-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈðʌs.li/.
What does "thusly" mean?
As an adverb, "thusly" means: thus (in this way).
How do you pronounce "thusly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thusly" is /ˈðʌs.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 "thusly"?
From thus + -ly, dating from the 19th century, seemingly coined by educated writers to make fun of uneducated persons trying to sound genteel, with a false inference that thus is not an adverb. 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 "thusly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list