virtually
vir·tu·al·ly/ˈvɚ.t͡ʃə.wə.li/adverb
virtually is spelled V-I-R-T-U-A-L-L-Y, 4 syllables: vir·tu·al·ly. The wrong spelling people search most is virtualy: about 20 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 39 of all searches for the word. Virtually is an adverb meaning “Almost but not quite”.
How many letters and syllables are in virtually?
| Letters | 9: V-I-R-T-U-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: vir·tu·al·ly |
| In writing | 18 times per million words; the 4,589th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, virtualy, about 20 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell virtually?
Virtually is spelled V-I-R-T-U-A-L-L-Y. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 26 of the searches for virtually in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is virtually?
Virtually appears 18 times per million words in written English, the 4,589th 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 virtually?
- US /ˈvɚ.t͡ʃə.wə.li/
- US /ˈvɝt͡ʃuəli/
- UK /ˈvɜːt͡ʃʊəli/
Virtually has 4 syllables, split vir·tu·al·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-virtually.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of virtually
- more virtually comparative
- most virtually superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does virtually mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Almost but not quite.
With our Medicare supplemental insurance plan, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. (Advertisement)
- 2
In essence or functionally, but not in fact, formally, or technically.
virtually a member of the family
- 3
Of a subgroup of finite index.
- 4
Of a covering space of finite degree.
- 5
By computer or in cyberspace.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Virtually in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | quasiment, pratiquement, pour ainsi dire , virtuellement |
| German | nahezu, praktisch |
| Portuguese | praticamente , virtualmente |
| Spanish | prácticamente |
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 virtually come from?
From Middle English vertually; equivalent to virtual + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).