purely
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
only for one specific reason or purpose.
exclusively or solely; used to limit the scope of a statement to a single factor or motive.
Simple“The decision to move was purely for financial reasons.”
In context“The committee insisted that the selection process was purely merit-based, despite allegations of personal bias among the senior members.”
UsageOften placed before a prepositional phrase or an adjective to narrow the focus.
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
completely or totally.
wholly or entirely; used to emphasize that a quality is present without any other elements.
Simple“The story she told was purely fictional.”
In context“The scientist argued that the phenomenon was purely physical and required no metaphysical explanation.”
UsageCommonly modifies adjectives to show a total state.
Synonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
in a way that is clean, honest, or morally good.
in a chaste, innocent, or unadulterated manner.
Simple“He lived his life purely, always trying to do the right thing.”
In context“The poet spoke of a love that existed purely in the spirit, untouched by the complications of the material world.”
SynonymsAntonymssinfullycorruptly
From Middle English purely, equivalent to pure + -ly.
From pure + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.