ENGLISH
REFERENCE

surely

adv. sent.
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //ˈʃʊɹɫi// UK //ʃˈɔːli// sure·ly General-service

adv. used to show that you are almost certain something is true, or to express surprise that someone might disagree with you.

adv. used to express confidence in the truth of a statement or to indicate surprise that the listener might hold a contrary opinion.


SIMPLE

Surely you aren't going out in this rain.

CONTEXTUAL

If they left two hours ago, surely they should have arrived at the station by now.

COMPLEX

While the evidence is circumstantial, surely the jury will recognize that the defendant had no plausible motive for committing such a public crime.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English surely; equivalent to sure + -ly.

Usage

Sentence adverb — typically placed at the beginning of a clause or before the main verb to emphasize the speaker's belief.

Pitfall

He surely will win the race.He will surely win the race.When used for emphasis within a sentence, it usually follows the first auxiliary verb rather than preceding it.

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