uncannily

/ʌŋˈkænɪli/

//ʌŋˈkænɪli// adv

"uncannily" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“uncannily” is uncommon English (frequency #78,239 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,239
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-uncannily · uncannily · English

uncannily · rank #78,239 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,239
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH UNAIDS

Nearest frequency peer: UNAIDS (-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 “uncannily”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for uncannily
PropertyValue
Headworduncannily
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ʌŋˈkænɪli/
Letters9
Frequency rank#78,239
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “uncannily” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).uncannilyfalls 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: “UNAIDS” (#78,238), “uncounted” (#78,240), “unelectable” (#78,241). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “uncannily” is #78,239. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

uncannily is uncommon English at frequency #78,239 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /ʌŋˈkænɪli/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In an uncanny manner.".

uncannily doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From uncanny + -ly. The correct English form is uncannily, spelled U-N-C-A-N-N-I-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In an uncanny manner.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The traveler very easily failed to notice one among the normal bushes and undergrowth, and the moment he was in range the venomous sting would slash out. Even the regular inhabitant of such a district found it difficult to detect a motionless triffid cunningly lurking beside a jungle path. They were uncannily sensitive to any movement near them, and hard…

Etymology

From uncanny + -ly.

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 "uncannily"?
"uncannily" is spelled U-N-C-A-N-N-I-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ʌŋˈkænɪli/.
What does "uncannily" mean?
As an adverb, "uncannily" means: In an uncanny manner.
How do you pronounce "uncannily"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "uncannily" is /ʌŋˈkænɪli/. 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 "uncannily"?
From uncanny + -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 "uncannily", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list