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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

nearly.

In close approximation; almost, virtually.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adv/ˈnɪəli/Received-Pronunciation/ˈnɪːlɪj/British, Southern, Standard/ˈnɪɹli/Canada, General-American/ˈniəli/New-Zealand
  1. In close approximation; almost, virtually.

    He left a nearly full beer on the bar.
    I nearly didn't go to work yesterday.
  2. With great scrutiny; carefully.

    archaic
  3. With close relation; intimately.

  4. Closely, in close proximity.

  5. Stingily.

Where this word comes from

From near + -ly. Cognate with Scots nerelie, neirlie (“nearly”). Compare also English nearling, nearlings.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.