Subtlely or subtly?
Did you mean subtly? Here's the right spelling and how to remember it.
Incorrect
subtlely
Correct
subtly
Correct spelling: subtly. Misspelling: subtlely.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
Memory tip
Subtle drops its final E before -y: SUBT-LY.
Why people write “subtlely”
“subtlely” differs from “subtly” in 2 places: it doubles the L, which subtly spells with just one; and it adds an extra vowel, E.
Spell-checkers catch the mistake in a document, but not in a handwritten note, a text message or a word game. Writing the word out a few times while saying the tricky part aloud is the quickest way to make subtly automatic.
What does “subtly” mean?
subtly adverb
- in a subtle manner
“late nineteenth-century French opera at its most beautiful, subtly romantic with a twilight melancholy”
Definitions from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Full dictionary entry
“Subtly” in a sentence
- He subtly changed the subject.
- Late nineteenth-century French opera at its most beautiful, subtly romantic with a twilight melancholy.
Is “subtly” a playable word?
11 points in Scrabble · 13 in Words With Friends
- Scrabble (US)
- Scrabble (UK)
- Words With Friends
“subtlely” is not accepted in any of these games. See every word you can make from SUBTLY.