weakly

/ˈwiːkli/

//ˈwiːkli// adj

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

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

The verdict

“weakly” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,432. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,432
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Frail, sickly or of a delicate constitution; weak.

Corpus desk

Index EN-weakly · weakly · English

weakly · rank #23,432 · 9 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,432
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH Voss

Nearest frequency peer: Voss (-2 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “weakly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “weakly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

weakly vs weary
67% similar
weakly vs weekly
83% similar
weakly vs weak
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for weakly
PropertyValue
Headwordweakly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈwiːkli/
Letters6
Frequency rank#23,432
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “weakly”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Voss” (#23,430), “Westchester” (#23,434), “vendetta” (#23,429). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “weakly” is #23,432. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around weakly (IPA /ˈwiːkli/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #23,432 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Frail, sickly or of a delicate constitution; weak.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for weakly, with forms such as "ewakly", "waekly", and "weakkly". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "weary", "weekly", "weak", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old English wāclīċe (“weakly”), equivalent to weak + -ly (adjectival suffix); compare Old English wāclīċ (“weak; ignoble; mean”), and Old Norse veikligr (“weakly; sick”); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waikalīkaz (“weakly; weak”). The correct English form is weakly, spelled W-E-A-K-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Frail, sickly or of a delicate constitution; weak.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I lay in weakly case and confined to my bed for four months before I was able to rise and health returned to me.
  2. I'd always been but weakly, / And my baby was just born; / A neighbour minded her by day, / I minded her till morn.

Etymology

From Old English wāclīċe (“weakly”), equivalent to weak + -ly (adjectival suffix); compare Old English wāclīċ (“weak; ignoble; mean”), and Old Norse veikligr (“weakly; sick”); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waikalīkaz (“weakly; weak”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ewakly
  • waekly
  • weakkly
  • weaklly
  • weaklyy
  • weakyl
  • wealky
  • wekaly
  • wweakly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of weakly - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ewakly2waekly2weakkly1weaklly1weaklyy1weakyl2wealky2wekaly2
Edit distance from "weakly"

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 "weakly"?
"weakly" is spelled W-E-A-K-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwiːkli/.
What does "weakly" mean?
As an adjective, "weakly" means: Frail, sickly or of a delicate constitution; weak.
What words are commonly confused with "weakly"?
"weakly" is commonly confused with "weary", "weekly", "weak". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "weakly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "weakly" is /ˈwiːkli/. 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 "weakly"?
From Old English wāclīċe (“weakly”), equivalent to weak + -ly (adjectival suffix); compare Old English wāclīċ (“weak; ignoble; mean”), and Old Norse veikligr (“weakly; sick”); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waikalīkaz (“weakly; weak”). 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 "weakly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

wiener#23,435Agatha#23,448Telugu#23,415Tarzan#23,413

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Slovak9 variantsbailout9 variantsshroud9 variantsballast9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list