It’s time for another installment of hard words to spell: common letter combinations that seem easy, but actually confuse many highly educated adults. Today we will discuss the ever-popular truely vs. truly spelling confusion.
This lesson is nice and simple, so it won’t take long. Why is it so efficient? Because between truely and truly, only one of the words actually exists! (Like “freind” and “friend, or “receive” and “recieve.”)
Truely Spelling
In the truley vs. truly quandary, there’s a simple answer: The word “truely” doesn’t exist! It’s simply an incorrect misspelling. Truely is a phantom of your imagination, much like the other common misspellings, “greatful,” “noone,” “everytime,” “firey,” “incase,” “seperate,” and “irrevelant.” Don’t use them!
The Meaning of Truely
If someone asks, “What is the meaning of the word truley?” The answer is that there is no meaning, because it doesn’t exist as a word! It’s just wrong.
Truly Spelling
The correct spelling of the word is “truly” (no “E” anywhere in it). Use my illustration above to help remember: “Eeek! Don’t put that scary ‘E’ in ‘truly!'”
Synonyms of truly include: really, honestly, truthfully, unequivocally, reliably, loyally, firmly, sincerely, genuinely, surely, and very. It is a heartfelt word that adds passionate emphasis to whatever you’re saying.
Truly in a Sentence
Here are some examples of the correct use of the word truly in a sentence.
- “I truly want to stop snacking at night and quit coffee! I believe this is the year I’ll finally do it.”
- She truly loved the article, “Why is Art Important? and after reading it, went out about bought 100 paintbrushes.”
- “I’m truly, madly, deeply enamored with that Savage Garden song, and I will never be truly happy until I can listen to it every second of the day.”
Yours Truly
The phrase “yours truly” is a fun one that can be used in several different ways. First, you can sign a letter by saying, “Yours Truly,” and follow it with your name on the next line. It’s formal and classy.
Second, “Yours truly” is a comically fancy way to refer to yourself. For example, if someone asks, “Whose giant purple octopus is this?!” you can proudly respond: “Yours truly.” This is a funny method of saying: “Me.”
VIDEO: How to Spell Truly
Truely or Truly in Sum
I hope this tutorial on the truely or truly spelling dilemma has proven useful, as well as enjoyable. Which other words or concepts would you like me to illustrate? Do share!
Want more? Check out my big round-up of commonly confused words in English, “flies or flys,” and how to spell definitely and spell rhythm…
The author and artist, Lillie Marshall, is a National Board Certified Teacher of English who has been a public school educator since 2003, and an experienced Reiki practitioner since 2018. All art on this site is original and hand-drawn by Lillie. She launched DrawingsOf.com Educational Cartoons in 2020, building upon the success of her other sites, AroundTheWorldL.com (established 2009), TeachingTraveling.com (founded 2010), and ReikiColors.com. Subscribe to Lillie’s monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media to stay connected!
