purely

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpjʊɹli/ UK /ˈpjʊəli/ See IPA manual

Freq #7625

Meanings

1

adv
Only; entirely and nothing else.

I'm asking purely out of curiosity, not to judge you.
2

adv
Completely; absolutely.

The outcome was purely a matter of luck.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · only; entirely and nothing... solely exclusively merely only

2 adv · completely; absolutely. completely entirely wholly

Opposites

impurelypollutedlyuncleanly

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

purely social
intended only for meeting people and enjoying their company

Adverb + adjective

Etymology

From Middle English purely, equivalent to pure + -ly.

purely Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

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