verily
/ˈvɛɹ.əl.i/obsolete
verily is spelled V-E-R-I-L-Y: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, verily means “Truly; doubtless; honestly; in truth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in verily?
| Letters | 6: V-E-R-I-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,998th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is verily?
Verily appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th 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 verily?
- US /ˈvɛɹ.əl.i/
- US /ˈvɛɹ.ɪ.li/
Verily has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-verily.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with verily?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as verily from its last stressed vowel (/ɛɹəli/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: livery.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does verily mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
archaicTruly; doubtless; honestly; in truth.
- 2
archaicconfidently, certainly
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Verily in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vraiment, véritablement, sans aucun doute, absolument, indubitablement, sans le moindre doute |
| German | wahrlich , gewiss, natürlich, sicher |
| Portuguese | verdadeiramente, deveras |
| Spanish | verdaderamente, de verdad, de veras, realmente, sin duda alguna , ciertamente |
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 verily come from?
From Middle English verraily, from verray (“true, very”) + -ly. More at very, -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).